CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST FORMER FORT WORTH OFFICER

By Mitch Mitchell

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
April 22, 2016

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The Tarrant County district attorney's office has dropped charges against a former Fort Worth police officer who was accused of sexually assaulting prostitutes in 2013.

Douglas V. Campbell, 36, of Fort Worth found out Wednesday that prosecutors will not pursue the case, said Jim Lane, Campbell's attorney.

"He was relieved to find out that the cases had been dropped," Lane said. "His reputation had been smeared and now the system has cleared him. He told everyone from the beginning that he did not do this crime and the criminal justice system has agreed."

Campbell was accused of sexually assaulting a prostitute, threatening another that he would take her to jail if she did not engage in sexual activity, and stealing $2 from an abandoned vehicle.

Campbell, who joined the department in 2007, was fired by then-Chief Jeff Halstead in January 2014.

"Prosecutors determined current evidentiary issues in this case do not support the decision to proceed with these charges at this time," said Eric Nickols, a Tarrant County prosecutor.

Campbell did plead guilty to theft of property under $50 by a public servant/elderly, court records show, and was sentenced to a year of deferred adjudication probation. If he completes the terms of his probation, the theft charge will not appear on his record.

In the theft case, investigators were conducting surveillance on Campbell as he was dispatched to a stranded vehicle blocking traffic.

They saw him talk with a woman who drove up to the scene and then take $2 from the stranded vehicle and give it to her, an arrest warrant affidavit stated. Police said Campbell told investigators he was sexually involved with the woman.

"He was man enough to say, 'Yeah, I took the $2,' " Lane said. "He gave the money to a woman who had a carload of kids with her so that she could take them to McDonald's. Had he not been in uniform, it would have been like getting a traffic ticket."

Lane said the state's case against Campbell rested on the accusations made by the two prostitutes police interviewed. According to court records, two fellow officers alerted the special investigations unit in August 2013 that an officer was rumored to be having sex with prostitutes in and around the 2100 block of South Riverside Drive.

Investigators began conducting surveillance on Campbell and interviewing women with whom he had contact.

Two women who accused Campbell were not consistent with their stories, Lane said.

"I think the prosecutor realized that he could not prove this case," Lane said. "It became pretty apparent that if something happened to these two women, it was not Douglas Campbell who did it."

Campbell will try to get his job back, Lane said.

"I'm sorry it took more than two years for Campbell to get his name cleared," Lane said.