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The female Texas trooper who performed a roadside cavity search on two women will be terminated, according to the Department of Public Safety.
The two women from Irving are suing Trooper David Farrell, Trooper Kelley Helleson and the director of the Department of Public Safety for what they call an unconstitutional search without probable cause.
DPS spokesman Tom Vinger released the following statement on Tuesday: "The Director of DPS has made a preliminary determination to terminate Kelly Helleson. By policy, she will be given the opportunity to meet with the director before the decision is finalized."
Helleson was suspended with pay on Dec. 19. Farrell was suspended with pay effective Dec. 21 pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident.
On July 13, while driving along State Highway 161, Angel Dobbs and her niece Ashley Dobbs were stopped for littering by Farrell. In the dashcam video released by the women and their attorney, Farrell can be heard telling the women they would both be cited for littering for throwing cigarette butts out of the car.
Farrell then returned to his cruiser and, in the video, can be heard calling female Trooper Helleson to the scene to search both women whom he said were acting weird.
While waiting for Helleson to arrive, Farrell asked Angel Dobbs to step out of the vehicle and began questioning her about marijuana use. In the video, the trooper is heard telling Dobbs he smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle while asking her several times how much pot was in the car.
After Helleson arrived, she can be seen in the dashcam video putting on blue latex gloves to conduct a search of both women. According to the lawsuit, when Angel Dobbs asked about the gloves, Helleson "told her not to worry about that."
'I was totally violated'
In the lawsuit, Dobbs said the trooper conducted the cavity search on the roadside, illuminated by the police car's headlights, in full view of any passing motorists.
"This has been an eye-opening experience for me. I've never been pulled over, never searched like this. I was totally violated over there a few minutes ago... this is so embarrassing to me," Angel Dobbs said on the video.
"I've never been so humiliated or so violated or felt so molested in my entire life," Angel Dobbs told NBC 5.
Dobbs said she never gave consent for the trooper to "frisk, pat-down, search or otherwise touch her" and that she never gave consent for Farrell to search her vehicle -- which he can be seen doing in the dashcam video while the cavity search was under way.
Dobbs said she was powerless to stop it. "What are you going to say? What's going to happen to you if you challenge that authority?" she said.
With the cavity search concluded, Farrell then asked Dobbs about prescription medications found in the car. Dobbs said they were for her thyroid and for migraines. According to the lawsuit, Dobbs also suffers from a medical condition that was irritated by the search.
Meanwhile, Helleson can then be seen performing the same cavity search on Dobbs' niece, Ashley.
"It's because somebody is a daily smoker in that car. OK, you can attribute it to that," Farrell can be heard saying on the recording.
The lawsuit further alleges that Helleson performed searches on both women, touching both their anus and vaginas, without changing the latex gloves between searches.
"I don't think anybody needs to have to feel, or go through what we went through," Ashley Dobbs said. "It crosses my mind every day. It's humiliating," she said.
After searching the entire car and finding no narcotics, Farrell then administered a DWI test that Dobbs passed, the lawsuit said. The women were then issued warnings for littering and released at the scene.
The lawsuit goes on to say that a bottle of prescribed hydrocodone was missing from Dobbs' car and purse after the search. The women returned to the scene of the traffic stop the next day to search for the medication, but it was nowhere to be found.
Their lawyers say the search was illegal and a complaint about it was filed in August but that DPS Texas Rangers who investigated the incident took no action.
"This is outside the constitutional grounds by a mile. It's not even close," attorney Scott Palmer said. "This has to stop. These two need to be stopped. There's no telling how many other people they've done this to and we hope that others come forward."
Attorney Charles Soechting Jr. said his father was a DPS trooper and he has great respect for the agency. "But in this instance they have completely failed the citizens of Texas," Soechting said.
Soechting said a records request to DPS produced no policy that allows for cavity search of any suspect in public.
"What we're dealing with is a Class C misdemeanor. It does not justify any type of pat-down, let alone an invasive search of cavities of women," he said.
DPS has not commented on the case.
The women are requesting a trial by jury and are asking for unspecified, compensatory and exemplary damages and interest as well as recovery of attorney's fees and court costs.
The Dallas County District Attorney's office told NBC 5 it has received the case and will refer it to a grand jury this month.
Related:
Dashcam video of incident (WARNING: Contains explicit language and some may find footage disturbing)
Leave a Comment:
Rules of civilized societies are not applicable in Texass.
Right you are Boatrocker, we TEXANS are all just SO totally UNCIVILIZED ... !!!
LOL
Guess you're one of those who think we all ride around on horses and live on ranches, right ????
I am SO glad she is getting fired. The male officer should to too. Good. HA!HA! What in the hell were they thinking?
Is this really the 21st century ? Or am I just dreaming.
Third world countries don't even pull some of the chit that goes on today.
Most people get nervous if they get pulled over by a cop.
Especially in Texas it seems ?
If the cop suspected marijuana you first search the car.
It is one thing to use a female officer to do a quick search.
When you do an extensive search on the side of the road it is illegal.
I guess the other country of Texas lives by their own rules.
No wonder they had a stay of execution. In the rest of the country
they call it Democratic process . In Texas its called railroading process.
Since Texas has the highest amount of executions in the Country by a wide margin. I wonder how many
are justified and how many are to save money. I used to be a firm believer in the Death Penalty.
I have to re-think my position after seeing some of the crap that goes on today.
I heard the FBI is reviewing over 2000 cases. Maybe they should review every case in Texas ?
The cop didn't smell any pot in the car. That is just the catch-all bullsh%t lie used by all police to claim that they have probable cause to search your vehicle for anything they wish to steal or arrest you for. People need to equip their own vehicles with cameras and microphones to stop this crap.
Holy cow! That seemed a little excessive on the part of the police......to say the least. Ok, did anyone else here think the female officer closely resembled Frau Buehler from Young Frankenstein? I don't think Frau would have gotten her finger up my rear before her teeth would have gone down her throat.
Fired? They should both be put in jail! This was an obvious gross violation of their authority.
Texas DPS are out of control, they make up the law as they feel fit... seen it numberous time's in the commercial side, all about there quota, nothing to do with human saftey...
texas police will search your car if you have to many big-macs..they think your high..been there done that...that and the schools down there is why i moved to oregon...
Both scumbag officers should be fired and sued till their broke, along with the state for not re enforcing rules that should prevent this. They have all become lax, so a huge lawsuit might just keep them from dropping the ball again. Money is the only thing in this world that keeps the attention of the people. 500 million should keep these idiots awake on the subject. Texas is fu(ked, been there one time, and will never visit that country again.
I appreciate law inforcement's efforts to keep us safe but this was abuse of power, pure and simple.
The copys probably feared those women might had weapons in their va-jay-jays. The court should award these women damages commensurate with the extreme violation and humiliation they were forced to endure.
Just another case where Texas DPS are out of control and do as they wish, seen it to many times on the commerical side, all about meeting there qouta, not the human saftey factor, they need more control, they are above the law as seen here.
This only thing that could make this story any dirtier is if Trooper Farrell doesn't recieve his pink slip along with his co-star Ms. Helleson. But don't wory about either...they both have a promising and successful future awaiting them in the porn industry. Their future is so bright, I understand both are already wearing sunglasses...even at night.
Both of these troopers need to be fired. With judgments like these, being in a position of authority is the last thing the people of Texas need. There is no reason the male trooper should not be fired immediately, once the female officer was fired.
Since when do cops do cavity searches at the side of the road? What did the cop do, pull down her slacks? Lift her skirt and remove her underwear to do a roadside cavity search? WTF is this formerly great nation coming to?
You're homing in on it - we no longer have personal rights, thanks to Bush, Obama, Patriot Act and Homeland Security. Police officers are SUPPOSED to be public SERVANTS, salary paid by your and my taxes. But they have decided they are public rulers, no limits on their powers. But a change is coming - and when it does, you are going to see something that makes the uprisings in Egypt and Syria look like a kid's birthday party.
your rights are gone everyone is a suspect everyone is a criminal in their eyes unless u r a brother or related thats what justice has come to
It has been proven time and time again that it is almost impossible to fire a cop REGARDLESS of the circumstances due to politicians being afraid of their union. She will get her job back with full back pay. That I will bet.
Rape by any other name, a rape is a rape. Prosecute both. Does not matter if you call it lack of training, lack of proper supervision, bad hiring practices what ever, prosecute. Let them get a taste of their own medicine. Yes I believe vengeance is a good thing for the brain in this case.
Suspended with pay???? This is ridiculous! They should be arrested and tried as criminals because that is exactly what they are. Disgraceful misuse of their given trust and responsibility. Sick individuals!
Did I miss something ? In the video I never saw the woman get a ticket for what she was
originally stopped for . Littering.
Dont Mess with Texas used to mean don't litter.
It has a whole new meaning now.
I vote to let them form their own country. Relocate all the good people out of Texas and replace them with the millions that agree with their methods. That will be one less "Good Ole Boy" state the people of the 21st century have to deal with. The country will do just fine without them.
They couldn't very well issue a ticket. Consider all the forensic evidence they would have left attached. Seems a lot of us worry about a federal 'police state' - I'd suggest that the local and state police are far more threatening to anyone's and everyone's civil rights - not to mention their safety and dignity.
In the words of Charlie Daniels, I think I'll go to LA via Omaha.
David Farrell should be terminated as well for initiation of the frivolous traffic stop and requesting the cavity search.
Kelley Helleson sounds like she would be a great candidate as a guard at a woman's prison - she could be in up to her elbows in cooch all the live long day.
If this is an illegal search, does it follow that it was, instead, sexual assault? Or is it more likely that even though they got caught assaulting these two women, rather than the appropriate criminal criminal charges being filed, they will get a 'naughtygram' in their files, and return to practicing gynecology?
A an unjustifiable penetrativee search is nothing less than rape.
She should be charge as such...imagine ANY other person carrying out such an act and what the repercussion would be.
Not to mention, it's virtually impossible to fire a govt employee, unless they shoot a coworker in the head. But, now that we've banned guns and rifles, that will never happen again. Therefore, no govt, taxpayer paid employee will ever be fired.
Both troopers should lose their jobs and their pensions. The female trooper should be charged with rape. In addition, I hope the two women who were violated by the female trooper sue the state of Texas for millions of dollars and sue the two troopers for everything they can get. The searches were a gross violation of their U.S. Constitutional rights.
Wow!! Have to admit, that is one hell of a video....damn....terminating one of those officers?? They should both be in jail! Don't want to seem naive (which I am definitely not) but wouldn't expect that type of action from any LEO in even the most barbaric countries in the world. I would think (and certainly hope) that any officer who sees this video is disgusted as I am. Certainly believe these actions are not typical and these two should be out of a job (and behind bars) in the near future.....(and hopefully, subject to the same treatment when in jail) As far as a civil suit, these girls won't need to work for a long, long time (and justifiably so)
Let this be a lesson to stupid filthy police everywhere, you work for us not the other way around you donut scarfing pigs.
You're an idiot. Loser.
We can all see Skigoof is a cop, Skigoof these are adults talking, go outside and play cops and robbers, you idiot.