Las Vegas police officer indicted for sexual harassment


By FRANCIS McCABE
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A Las Vegas police officer was indicted by a grand jury on charges he sexually intimidated and harassed women he met on duty, prosecutors said Friday.
Solomon Coleman faces two counts each of oppression under color of law and gross lewdness and one count each of indecent exposure and taking pictures of a person’s private area, all gross misdemeanors.
Authorities said Coleman developed a pattern of starting “relationships” with women he met at crime scenes and on routine calls, using his authority as an officer to gain their trust.
Coleman’s misdeeds were uncovered in June after a woman complained about his behavior. The Review-Journal does not publish the names of alleged sex crime victims.
After other officers took her boyfriend to jail following a domestic disturbance, Coleman stayed behind.
A female officer had already taken photos of bruises on her neck, arms and back, but Coleman said he also needed to “check for bruises on her ass,” according to a police report.
The woman told Coleman she didn’t have bruises there, but he “insisted on checking anyway,” the report said. She said Coleman pulled down her shorts and underwear to her knees and asked her to bend over on the bed.
The woman said Coleman stayed behind to give her paperwork, but then followed her into her bedroom to help her look for missing house keys.
She felt forced to comply when Coleman pulled down her pants.
At one point, her son walked into the bedroom before being ushered out by the officer.
Coleman later exposed himself to her in her bathroom.
When the officer came back after his shift, the woman saw him through the blinds but wouldn’t open the door, she said.
Detectives checked Coleman’s patrol log, which showed the officer left her home 36 minutes after his fellow officers.
After the first complaint, investigators dug through Coleman’s cellphone records and patrol logs. They found another victim, but she was not even aware of what happened.
Coleman used his phone to record more than 20 minutes of a personal sex video the woman had stored on her phone, the report said. The video had been on Coleman’s phone for a year when detectives found it.
Coleman’s defense lawyer Josh Tomsheck declined to comment.
Coleman remains on house arrest pending an arraignment hearing set for Jan. 16 before Judge Valorie Vega.