WASHINGTON — A Prince George’s County police officer has been suspended with pay after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a traffic stop last week.
The yet-to-be-identified officer was on duty, in uniform and driving a marked cruiser at the time of the traffic stop, police spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan said during a Monday afternoon press availability, which was organized after reports began leaking out to the media.
“We are taking this extremely seriously,” said Donelan, who declined to say where the incident happened. It occurred around 1 a.m. last Thursday, she said, and the woman involved reported it hours later.
“She came forward, and I want to commend her for doing so,” Donelan said.
A special investigation response team was immediately launched in the department’s internal affairs division, she said, and “we have been working very closely with the Prince George’s County state’s attorney’s office.”
Responding to some reports that the woman involved was undocumented, Donelan declined to comment on the woman’s status. But she said that so far, investigators “do not have any evidence that suggests that this woman was possibly targeted due to her immigration status.”
