Woman Accuses Police Officer of Assaulting Her at Her Home

AUSTIN, TX – An Austin woman has accused an Austin Police Department officer of sexually assaulting her when she was unconscious. The woman first came into contact with the officer during a job-related incident.

A search warrant affidavit states that on April 18 Officer Walter Dodds reported to the scene of an attempted suicide and met the women. The individual that attempted suicide was taken to the hospital out of concern for their safety.

The woman was then interviewed by Officer Dodds who can be heard on the body cam asking is “she was going to lock the door to her apartment.” The victim answered no and the audio appears to show Dodd’s replying: “What if someone sneaks in there? You don’t want to be sleeping with some dude in there with you.”

According to KXAN, the woman told investigators the officer made several inappropriate phone calls to her before he came to her home and committed the sexual assault.

On April 29, the woman called APD and explained to a Sex Crimes officer that she had received multiple phone calls from Dodds after the incident on April 18. The victim told police that Doss asked if he could come over to her home and whether she would “take off his uniform.”

She told officers she passed out because she was “super intoxicated,” and when she woke up she was being sexually assaulted by Dodds.

She told officers she “remembers perfectly” certain details, which included the fact that Dodd’s was in police uniform and that she believes Dodds was wearing his duty belt. 

A young family member that was staying in the victim’s house corroborated part of the story and told officers he saw a man in a police uniform go into the victim’s room and closed the door. The family member told police that when the man left the victim looked distraught and she was “crazy-looking.”

APD obtained a search warrant to obtain a sample of Dodds’ saliva after the victim claimed DNA evidence was left at the scene. 

Dodds joined the Austin Police Department in December of 2017 and is assigned to the patrol division. He has been placed on restricted duty while the investigation is ongoing. 

Rebecca Bernhardt, member of the Public Safety Commission has questioned why he remains on the job and whether he has been investigated before.

“I’m interested why he’s on restricted duty and on duty at all. I’d be interested in hearing Chief Manley’s answer to that question.”

A retired APD officer told local media that it is important to have all the facts before padding judgment. According to Jerry Stanton, there may a variety of reasons why Dodds hasn’t been sent home.

“It’s not unusual at all to put an officer on restricted duty where he’s not doing any kind of police work, he’s having no contact with the public, but he’s still contributing to the overall benefit of the department,” said Stanton.