A Texas police officer is suing investigators for allegedly ignoring evidence that would have exonerated him from a rape accusation that he says ruined his life and took months to undo.
The officer, Freddie Douglas, was arrested in December after the girlfriend of one of his longtime friends accused both him and her boyfriend of raping her. The charges were eventually dropped, but Douglas' lawsuit argues police were aware of evidence that would have exonerated the two men but refused to look into it and moved forward with the arrests regardless.
The girlfriend, identified in the complaint as Amanda Zawieruszynski, alleged that both Douglas and her boyfriend, John Marks, raped her at Marks' home on Nov. 8, 2023. The complaint details that she "claimed that she tried to fight Marks off," and that Marks then "pushed her over to Douglas who had sex with her while she was trying to fight him off." Marks and Douglas were arrested in December and Marks immediately protested that surveillance footage from inside his home would contradict the accusation.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Mike Kerensky, says both men did have sex with Zawieruszynski, but that it was entirely consensual.
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"Douglas met AZ [Zawieruszynski] for the first time at the home of John Marks.… It was the day before Freddie Douglas’ birthday. He and John Marks had planned to go to a Rockets game that night," the lawsuit says, adding that Zawieruszynski texted Marks several times to arrange plans for her to meet them at his house after the game.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Zawieruszynski came to the house and the three had a few drinks, but "no one became intoxicated."
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"At some point, John Marks and AZ started having consensual sex in the pool. After that, AZ wanted to have sex with Freddie Douglas and did. This sexual activity was completely consensual on the part of all involved," the lawsuit says.
Approximately a month later, the complaint states, Zawieruszynski went to the Manvel Police Department and claimed that the two men had raped her.
Fox News Digital's efforts to reach Zawieruszynski, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, were unsuccessful.
Douglas worked with the El Campo Police Department, and his chief informed him on Dec. 7 that the MPD were arresting him. According to the complaint, Douglas immediately informed the arresting officers that the footage from inside Marks' home would exonerate him, but they moved forward with the arrest anyway.
Subsequently, other MPD officers were recorded entering Marks' home and discussing the footage, but they made no apparent effort to investigate it, the lawsuit claims.
Footage from Marks' front door camera obtained by Fox News Digital shows police officers discussing the footage. One said Douglas and Marks had mentioned it during their arrests. Another officer pondered that perhaps Zawieruszynski "did consent."
Footage shows that an officer noticed the door camera a few minutes later and they moved away, mentioning that it would be recording them.
"Within minutes of Freddie Douglas’ arrest, the Manvel Police Department knew that there was objective evidence that would determine who was being truthful, AZ or Douglas and Marks," Douglas' lawsuit alleges.
The MPD contested the lawsuit's version of events in a statement to Fox News Digital. MPD Chief Keith Taylor argued that "that there has been misinformation provided to the news outlets from these individuals and their attorneys representing them."
He said he could not discuss the specifics of the case due to the pending litigation, however. He nevertheless said it was "false" that MPD investigators knowingly disregarded evidence that would have exonerated Marks and Douglas.
"This is a false claim as this evidence was presented to the district attorney's office and the Grand Jury. This is required by law; all evidence including exculpatory evidence be presented. It will further be shown through the legal process these claims and allegations are false," Taylor said.
The charges against Douglas and Marks were dropped after Douglas approached the Brazoria County district attorney. The DA's office says Manvel police never approached them about the case and that if they had, the office would never have recommended charges.
When the MPD pressed on with the case regardless, the DA convened a grand jury. It ultimately threw out the charges.
