Ex-Cedar Hill officer accused of soliciting sex on duty had a pattern of inappropriate behavior with women, records show
NORTH TEXAS – A former Cedar Hill police officer is charged with official oppression for allegedly soliciting a woman he arrested for sex. The CBS News Texas I-Team discovered reports he solicited other women while on duty, too.
Donald Mercer turned himself into the Ellis County jail Monday morning on a case related to a DWI arrest he made in August.
Mercer pulled over a 27-year-old woman, performed a field sobriety test, and then placed her in handcuffs in the backseat of his patrol car.
According to a report by the Texas Rangers, when Mercer reached across her to grab a seatbelt, the video shows "the victim kisses the left side of (his) neck." The report says, in the video, "(Mercer) then turns his head toward the victim and kisses her."
Investigators allege Mercer later pulled over and turned off all his vehicle's lights and his body camera.
According to their report, a camera in the patrol car captures Mercer asking her, "Do you still have to throw up or pee?"
Investigators say he let her out of the car and can be seen talking to her. They wrote, this is when "the victim stated (he) asked her for oral sex, which she refused."
Investigators say, when they returned to the car, video captures the woman "whimpering" and "passing out several times due to her intoxication".
Their report says Mercer and the woman went on to exchange text messages over the next month with the woman in one case writing, "You had the nerve to ask me to s*** your c***. You pulled over in the middle of nowhere to get me to do so. You know I can report you?"
Cedar Hill police say by the time they were notified, they were already investigating Officer Mercer for a separate incident involving a domestic violence call. In that case, Mercer admitted to telling the alleged victim he wanted to have sex with her.
While being questioned by internal affairs investigators, Mercer revealed he'd also given women his phone number after pulling them over on traffic stops.
CBS News Texas obtained video of Mercer's admission to an internal affairs captain.
Captain Chenault: Have you ever given your phone number to a violator on a traffic stop?
Mercer: I have.
Captain Chenault: Okay. For what purpose?
Mercer: Uh, just conversational purposes.
Chenault: Okay.
Captain Chenault: And so how, how many times would you say that that's happened?
Mercer: Since I've been on patrol cap prob, maybe two or three times. I, I can't really put an exact number on, but I have done it before.
That internal investigation found Mercer violated four department policies, including dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming of an officer.
It was only during the DWI stop, though, that the Texas Rangers found his behavior to be criminal.
Mercer's attorney, Robert Huseman, released a statement Monday afternoon:
"It's very early in the process. We are currently conducting our own, thorough investigation into the allegations. Until then, we would ask the public not to rush to judgment. Officer Mercer served this community and has devoted his life to helping others."