Post by KC on Jan 7, 2007 17:29:19 GMT -5
Officer Arthur Lewis
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- Eyewitness News has learned a Longwood police officer arrested and fired for allegedly inappropriately touching a teenager has been investigated before. A woman who worked with Officer Art Lewis as a police dispatcher in Altamonte Springs called Channel 9 on Tuesday.
In an internal affairs report of a he said she said incident when Officer Arthur Lewis was a dispatcher at the Altamonte Springs Police Department, a female co-worker says he pinned her in a corner, pulled up her shirt and groped her.
"It was horrible. I ended up leaving and pursuing another career because of it," Melissa Jackson told Eyewitness News on Tuesday.
Jackson believes Lewis is getting what's coming to him. He was arrested Monday for allegedly fondling a 14-year-old while on duty with Longwood police, but Jackson said the alleged actions are nothing new for Lewis, after what she says happened during an overnight shift at Altamonte Police Department.
"It was probably three or four in the morning. He called me into the break room, the kitchen, and he cornered me and proceeded to inappropriately touch me," Jackson said.
An internal affairs report found there was not enough evidence to take action against Lewis back in 2003, but the report shows she complained that Lewis continually asked to see her breasts until finally groping her.
"I started to cry. I was in shock and he was bigger than me, so there wasn't much I could do," she said.
Jackson resigned her position after being forced to continue working with Lewis, saying she felt intimidated and concerned for her safety. She said, today, she wished she'd taken a firmer stance then.
"He doesn't deserve to be a police officer," she said.
Lewis denied the allegations during the investigation, saying he was never even attracted to Jackson. He's also denied the allegations of the 14-year-old girl he's accused of fondling.
Lewis bonded out of jail Monday night facing charges related to the 14-year-old. In that case, he responded to a call from grandparents who found their 14-year-old at home with her boyfriend. Police said Lewis questioned the teen alone and she admitted to having sex with him. The girl claims Lewis told her to drop her pants so he could examine her for sexually-transmitted diseases.
Lewis is charged with a lewd and lascivious act on a minor.
www.wftv.com/news/10470310/detail.html