SIGN UP FOR BREAKING NEWS Get local stories sent straight to your inbox as news breaks. Submit Privacy Notice

KOCO Chronicle Part 1: Inside the investigation of Daniel Holtzclaw KOCO's Erielle Reshef takes a look inside the investigation of Daniel Holtzclaw, a former Oklahoma City police officer convicted of sexually assaulting women while wearing a badge. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT TONIGHT - A STORY THAT SHOOK THE STATE - AND RIPPLED ACROSS THE NATION. THE DANIEL HOLTZCLAW TRIAL. AN OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE OFFICER CONVICTED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING WOMEN WHILE WEARING THE BADGE. SOME SAY THE CASE WAS SWEPT UNDER THE RUGBY THE POLICE, THE MEDIA, THE CITY THE COUNTRY - IN THE MIDST OF A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE WITH POLICE OTHER CITIES ERUPTING NOW - WE SHARE THE PERSPECTIVE FROM OKLAHOMA. HOW WAS THE CASE HANDLED? HAS THE CITY CHANGED? WE TAKE YOU INSIDE THE INVESTIGATION, THE TRIAL, THE VERDICT, THE SENTENCING AND THE REACTION. YOU'RE WATCHING KOCO CHRONICLE. THIS IS NORTH EAST OKLAHOMA CITY. A PART OF TOWN STRUGGLING TO SHED A LONG HISTORY OF DRUGS, POVERTY, PROSTITUTION ... ROUGH STREETS - RIFE WITH RUMORSSPECULATI ON AND SUSPICION BUT ON JUNE 18, 2014 A SORDID SECRET - UNEARTHED. NORTHEAST 50th AND LINCOLN. 2-AM. POLICE LIGHTSBARELY VISIBLE IN THIS GRAINY SURVEILLANCE VIDEO. HEADED HOME AFTER HIS SHIFT OFFICER DANIEL HOLTZCLAW TURNS OFF HIS G-P-S... THEN HE MAKES A TRAFFIC STOP. 58 YEAR OLD JANNIE LIGONS PULLS OVER HER RED PONTIAC GRAND-AM. DISCOVERING LIGONS IS DRIVING WITHOUT A STATE I- DHOLTZCLAW ASKS HER TO STEP OUT OF HER CAR at the time I patted her down and whatnotasked her to lift up her shirtthere were no weapons that I could see OKLAHOMA CITY SEX CRIMES DETECTIVE KIM DAVIS she didn't have warrants so she wasn't trying to get out of going to jail - there was no motive for her to make these allegations ALLEGATIONS THE OFFICER SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER. it was her daughter that said no - we're reporting this, I think she just wanted it to go away, so they went to the Spring Lake Division and it was closed THE ENTIRE CASE AGAINST DANIEL HOLTZCLAW COULD HAVE ENDED HERE BUT IT DOESN'T LIGONS - IS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL FOR EXAMINATION. DETECTIVE DAVIS RESPONDS TO THE CALL Erielle: Tell me about the call you received? I was the on call detective that weekend and I was called to the hospital, Janie was making allegations that she was assaulted by a police officer COMPLAINTS AGAINST OFFICERS - NOT UNCOMMON... What made you believe Jannie? her she was scared to deathshe kept telling me that she thought she was gonna die she thought if an Oklahoma City police officer would do this to me, then he's gonna have to kill me DAVIS GOES BACK TO LE HEADQUARTERS AND COMPARE NOTES WITH DETECTIVE ROCKY GREGORY GREGORY IS WORKING A SEPARATE REPORT BY A DIFFERENT WOMAN CLAIMING SEXUAL ASSAULT BY AN OFFICER the same type of basically MO we started realizing we had the same officer assaulting - we just didn't know his name at the time our command pulled GPS of Spring Lake officers in the black cars, to see who was at 50th and Lincoln where that traffic stop occurred KD: why'd you log off? DH: I always log offKD: aren't you supposed to stay logged on til you got home LOGGING OFF -- AGAINST DEPARTMENT POLICY Holtzclaw was logged off his computerso they couldn't see where he was - that's how we got to him. DAVIS AND GREGORY ARE INCREASINGLY CONVINCED THAT DANIEL HOLTZCLAW IS THE OFFICER WHO STOPPED LIGGONS. 59:19 I interviewed Janie at 2 o'clock in the morning - at 4 o'clock that afternoon when he started his next shift, detective Gregory and I were at his station Erielle: What did you learn? From him? He was a loner 7:51 when you're on patrol you kinda run with a certain group that you take calls with together and stuff and you kinda eat with the same groupnot him. THE THREE FILE INTO A SMALL ROOM the question I have is we've got a lapse of time hereso I'm kinda - get a handle on where the time wentand even you said it was just a quick little search of the carDH: it wasRG: where's the rest of the time? HOLTZCLAW'S STORY -- MATCHING LIGGONS' ACCOUNT WITH ONE MAJOR EXCEPTION 35:32 KD: nothing sexual went on during that 15 minutesDH: nothing sexual. 3:31 KD: why in the world would she make this up?? DH: I don't knowI don't know 14:30 KD: the thing that kinda concerns me is everything is dead on to what she sayseverythingexcept the sexual stuff what was the demeanor you observed? 9:24 robotic ya it was like interviewing a robot HOLTZCLAW'S UNIFORM PANTS TAKEN TO TEST FOR DNA alright manpants in this bag WHEN LEFT ALONE IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM -- HE CALLS HIS GIRLFRIEND. girlfriend answers: helloDH: Hey babybabe I need I need to tell you what's going on Rocky: We knew we had the right guy... DANIEL HOLTZCLAW ENTERING THE INTERROGATION - A COP Rocky: we had to do this...it was the right thing. .LEAVING A SUSPECT. #### HOLTZCLAW IS KICKED OFF PATROL - BUT THE CASE AGAINST HIM -- JUST BEGINNING NOWTHE DEVELOPING ALLEGATIONS AND HOW INVESTIGATORS FIND OUT THERE ARE MORE VICTIMS BY JUNE OF 2014 - DANIEL HOLTZCLAW IS ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE FROM THE OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT AMID SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS BY TWO WOMEN within a few minutes of my sex crimes chief Gayland Gieger learning about it I realized that we very likely had one of two things someone wearing a uniform, pretending to be a police officer or we actually had a police office using that authority to rape women. ASSISTANT DA's GAYLAND GEIGER AND LORI MCCONNELL Gieger: detectives knew he wasn't telling us the truth. Now that doesn't automatically mean he did what he's accused of doing but it certainly raises anybody's common sense 10:29 We knew what was going to happen. We knew we'd end up in a courtroom. they were willing to file on the two how did you know this was getting bigger? 49:34 our boss gave us each a stack of girls that he thought could be potential victims and we just went knocking on doors THE STACK - CONTAINING THE NAMES OF WOMEN DANIEL HOLTZCLAW SEARCHED ON THE POLICE DATABASE FOR OUTSTANDING WARRANTS AND PRIOR RECORDS. as we're locating more victims we're wrapping up these other cases THE NUMBER OF POTENTIAL VICTIMS IS GROWINGAND A PATTERN IS EMERGING Gayland Gieger: I think he was profiling women who had criminal histories, who are in high crime areas who at least arguably were engaged in criminal activity. you have prostitution, and drugs, and a fear of the police... that's the perfect victimbecause nobody's gonna believe themand if somebody believes themwho cares 20:34 he picked those victims for a reasonthey didn't report Erielle: Do you tell a Cop on a Cop? Kim: they'd say who am I gonna call on the police'?...the police? And they'd just laugh Rocky: we went to them, we didn't tell them who we was investigating once we gained the trust that uhwe're just checking on things that's when they did they would start to tell their story THE WOMEN TELL DETECTIVES THEIR STORIES WALKING THEM THROUGH THE CRIMES. DAVIS AND GREGORY COMPARE THE WOMEN'S ACCOUNTS TO THE GPS IN DANIEL HOLTZCLAW'S PATROL CAR. Kim: until we interviewed a victim we never went back and checked his GPS that was done by design obviously Kim: and every time we went back it was dead on Erielle: so there was a clear trail? KIM: yes. and then came Jannie Ligons case GG: and then came Jannie's case...yes. #### STILL AHEAD - DETECTIVES NOTICE ANOTHER ALARMING TREND THE SOT: Erielle: 2:05 there was a night he struck more than once THE BUILD-UP TO DANIEL HOLTZCLAW'S ARREST AND THE MOMENT THE CASE GOES PUBLIC.