A Texas cop was arrested for alleged sex assault and fired — despite authorities knowing about footage that proved the incident was part of a consensual threesome, a new lawsuit says.
Freddie Douglas — a 43-year-old dad of two and onetime “Officer of the Year” with the El Campo Police Department — says in court papers that his life was torn apart in December when 40-year-old Amanda Zawieruszynski accused him and his longtime friend, John Marks, 41, of raping her.
Zawieruszynski, who lived across the street from and was dating Marks, claimed the men forced themselves on her while she was visiting Mark’s home in Manvel, just outside of Houston, for a late-night swim Nov. 8, the suit says — noting that the accuser is white and the men are black.
“She claimed that she tried to fight Marks off. She claimed that he then pushed her over to Douglas who had sex with her while she was trying to fight him off,” says Douglas’ lawsuit, first obtained by the Daily Mail.
But the lawsuit tells a completely different version of events from the alleged victim — a scenario it says is backed up by extensive footage taken on Marks’ home-security system and later verified by prosecutors.
“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, describing how Zawieruszynski texted Marks’ several times to arrange plans for her to stop by and swim when they got back.
Once Douglas and Marks returned home, Zawieruszynski came over, and they had a few drinks and got in the water, the suit says.
“No one became intoxicated. 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.
But about a month later, Zawieruszynski turned around and told the cops Douglas and Marks had forced themselves on her and that they needed to be locked up immediately, the papers state.
On Dec. 7, Douglas was at work when his the El Campo police chief approached him and told him he was being arrested by the Manvel Police Department over Zawieruszynski’s accusations, the document says.
Douglas’ lawsuit says that moment was the first time he or Marks heard anything untoward about the night in the pool and that Manvel officers never interviewed him or included him in any investigating before his arrest.
Despite immediately telling Manvel police that he had video evidence which would exonerate him, Douglas was ignored and instead thrown behind bars to spend a night in a freezing cell without a blanket, the lawsuit says.
Meanwhile, officers searching Marks’ home were heard on its home-security system talking about the footage — but still did not look into it and charged the pair, according to the lawsuit.
“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,” the suit read, adding that nobody investigated the footage.
After posting $100,000 bond with the help of his mother — which included $10,000 in non-refundable fees — Douglas sold off his house and possessions in a “fire sale” to cover his legal fees, his suit says.
But his reputation was also already marred, the documents say.
Douglas — who had served with the El Campo Police since 2011 — found his name splashed across the headlines in his small town, the court papers say.
“As Freddie Douglas moved around the small town of El Campo, the stares and whispers followed him everywhere; the grocery store; Walmart; getting gas; at stop lights. In a town like El Campo, if a police officer is arrested and fired summarily by the department, everyone assumes that the accused is guilty,” the lawsuit says.
“Only Freddie Douglas’ closest friends and family supported him during this time. The result nearly crushed Freddie Douglas’ spirit. His future looked very dark,” it adds.
Douglas was only saved when he went to the Brazoria County district attorney, who claimed Manvel cops never came to his agency for a recommendation of charges — and that had it been consulted, it would have advised against any charges based on the video evidence, the suit says.
But despite this, police refused to back down, and it wasn’t until the DA brought the case before a Brazoria County grand jury that the charges were finally thrown out, the papers note.
Zawieruszynski was never charged with filing a false report, according to the lawsuit.
Now Douglas is suing the Manvel Police Department and several of its members, along with Zawieruszynski, for damages from allegedly slander, violation of civil rights, and malicious prosecution.
The Manvel Police Department did not respond to Post requests for comment.
