Saturday, February 06, 2010

Officer Maynard Richardson Charged with Attempted Sexual Assault

A Des Moines police officer was arrested and charged with attempting to sexually assault a woman in his patrol car early Friday, Des Moines Police Chief Judy Bradshaw said.

Police accused Officer Maynard Richardson, 35, of attacking the 22-year-old woman while he was on duty and in uniform.

Richardson faces charges of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and non-felonious misconduct in office.

"We began an immediate criminal investigation as soon as the allegations were brought to us," Bradshaw said Friday afternoon. "We partnered with the Polk County attorney's office, who was present throughout the investigation."

Richardson, who is paid $52,166 per year, was placed on paid administrative leave pending completion of an internal review of the case.

Richardson posted $3,000 bond and was released from the Polk County Jail Friday night.

Police said the woman was not physically injured.

Police released few details about the incident. Bradshaw declined to describe the type of contact the officer had with the woman.

She would only say that the incident occurred within the Des Moines city limits and that Richardson had contact with the woman as part of his duties as an officer.

The woman called police to file the complaint at about 6:30 a.m., police said, just as Richardson's patrol shift was ending.

Richardson was detained while authorities looked into the complaint. They eventually arrested him and took him to jail, where he was booked at 5:55 p.m. Friday.

The incident occurred sometime between midnight and 6:30 a.m., said Sgt. Lori Lavorato, a Des Moines police spokeswoman.

The woman is not believed to have been involved in a crime and was not on a supervised ride-along with the officer, Lavorato said.

Police believe Richardson did not know the woman before Friday's incident, Bradshaw said.

Police initially released her age as 19 but later revised it to 22. The reason for the discrepancy was not clear.

Richardson served a two-day suspension for inappropriate comments and conduct in 2009, but Bradshaw declined to offer details, citing the privacy of employee records.

Bradshaw emphasized that Richardson's alleged conduct in the incident Friday should not besmirch the reputation of Des Moines police.

"This is an anomaly," Bradshaw said. "In the 30 plus years I have been with this department, we've never seen anything like this. It's not reflective of the extraordinary police work that are out there working ... for the citizens of Des Moines trying to do the right thing."

Beyond the criminal charges, Richardson will face review by police administrators that could result in his termination from the department. Bradshaw said the department's professional standards team will begin its investigation next week.

Richardson's 2006 application for a military tax credit on his Johnston home states he served in the military from March 1994 to December 2000.

He applied for a marriage license with Heather Kephart in November 2004, according to Polk County records.

Richardson graduated from the Des Moines police academy on July 14, 2008, and joined the state's largest police force in December 2008.

A Polk County court determined Richardson was the father of a child born in February 1997 to another woman.

Richardson was ordered to pay $408 per month in child support in September 2008, shortly before he started with the Des Moines police, Iowa court records show.

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