Footage has resurfaced on social media showing convicted Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw when he was sentenced to 263 years in prison in 2016. Holtzclaw, charged with rape and other charges, was convicted of 18 of 36 counts, including four counts of first-degree rape and four counts of forced oral sodomy.
Upon learning that he would spend over 260 years in prison, Holtzclaw broke down in tears as he comprehended spending the rest of his life behind bars. The former police officer targeted victims, primarily African Americans, using his influence as a law enforcement officer. He victimized women of varying ages based on their criminal histories, which Holtzclaw assumed would undermine testimony against him.
In 2015, the Oklahoma City Police Department released a statement announcing the termination of Holtzclaw. On June 18, 2014, the Oklahoma City Police Department became aware of acts of criminal misconduct believed to have been committed by an officer of this department. Investigators soon identified Officer Daniel Holtzclaw as the person accused of sexual acts against a member of our community,” the department said on Facebook.
The OKC police continued, “Hours after receiving this information from the victim, an initial interview was conducted, and Holtzclaw was placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation of the allegations.
In August of 2014, Daniel Holtzclaw was arrested and formally charged by members of our department for various criminal charges including forcible oral sodomy, indecent exposure, stalking, sexual battery, and rape. These charges were filed after detectives from this department were able to find multiple additional victims who had also come in contact with Holtzclaw.”
Following various investigations, it was determined that Holtclaw should be fired. “After the criminal investigation was concluded the Oklahoma City Police Department began an internal investigation into the various alleged incidents. After all formal protocol was followed, the result of the internal investigation is the termination of Daniel Holtzclaw from employment with the Oklahoma City Police Department,” the statement added
Police Chief William Citty said in the termination letter to Holtzclaw, “Your offenses committed against women in our community constitute the greatest abuse of police authority I have witnessed in my 37 years as a member of this agency. These violations more than warrant your termination from the Oklahoma City Police Department.”
The statement from the the Oklahoma City Police Department continued, “We believe these incidents were the criminal and malicious acts of a lone person and in no way represent the professionalism, courage and compassion exemplified by our officers to our community on a daily basis. The solid trust we have with our community can only be maintained by continued transparency, professionalism and the just and fair policing of our own employees. We hope this incident, although, appalling, embarrassing and unfortunate, serves as an example that we will hold our officers accountable to the same laws to which we hold the citizens to.”
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Watch Holtzclaw react to this sentencing below:
In 2022 Holtzclaw was denied parole by the state pardon and parole board. The former police officer’s appeal request made in August of 2020 was also denied. Judge David Lewis of the court of criminal appeals said, “This case involves a sexual predator who happened to be employed, most unfortunately, as an Oklahoma City police officer.”
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.