Police said in a press conference that a woman who claims an officer assaulted her during an arrest was actually assaulted by her boyfriend's wife.
Harker Heights posted about the undisclosed incident Friday evening and said it was currently under review. The department released no details but said the report review was going to "take some time to complete."
On Tuesday, Central Texas News Now received the arrest affidavit of Leah Dure, the woman in the alleged incident. The affidavit said that on New Year’s Day, an officer was dispatched to 850 W. Central Texas Expressway for a disturbance. When the officer arrived, a car was parked in the ambulance bay.
According to the affidavit, Dure had an odor of an alcoholic beverage on her person. When officers tried to remove her from the car, she jumped to the passenger side. An officer from the Killeen Police Department was able to take her out of the car. Dure was arrested for public intoxication.
During the booking process, the affidavit said that the woman was not cooperating and was grabbing the officer and his body camera. Dure was put in a holding cell until she was willing to cooperate.
Harker Heights police held a press conference Tuesday.
In the conference, Chief Mike Gentry said that after Dure was released from custody, Dure and her boyfriend, William Stewart III, made a report that Dure's injuries were from an officer with the Harker Heights police officer. Dure claimed that the officer assaulted and injured her during the arrest.
The Harker Heights Police Department requested an investigation and found that the claims were false.
Police said that the injuries that Dure had received were from a violent domestic dispute between Dure, her boyfriend and her boyfriend's wife that happened on Jan. 1. The Killeen Fire Department responded to the dispute that occurred on Transit Drive.
At one point, Dure even asked to hug the officer who performed the arrest.
On Tuesday evening, the Law Office of Robert M. McCabe posted on Facebook asking for an apology and retraction of the social media post made accusing Officer Joshua Wood of assaulting Dure.
Central Texas News Now reached out to McCabe's office. McCabe said that he currently represents Wood in the administrative case and have discussed the likelihood of pursuing a civil suit if there is no retraction.
"At this point, we are hopeful that Mr. Merritt will admit his error and issue a full retraction of the false and reckless narrative he published on Facebook," said McCabe.
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