A former Tallahassee Police officer accused of sexually assaulting a motorist during a traffic stop could be heading back to court. A mistrial was declared in Vincent Crump’s trial, after a juror failed to show up to the second day of deliberations.
The judge offered three possibilies to proceed: go ahead with five jurors, replace the one with an alternate or declare a mistrial. The state wanted to replace to replace the missing juror, a man, with an alternate but defense attorney Mutaquee Akbar pushed for a mistrial.
“With 11 hours of deliberation a new juror come in, that juror’s discussion would impact the other jurors already. We feel confident in the case and we feel confident another six jurors will come in and we’ll get the verdict we’ve been looking for, which is not guilty," he said.
Crump was fired in February by TPD Chief Mike DeLeo who addressed reporters shortly after in a hastily-called press conference. DeLeo noted Crump hadn't been arrested, but that he, "betrayed the values of our agency and the public’s trust."
According to the probable cause affidavit released by TPD, Crump told the victim he smelled marijuana in her car, and offered to make a deal with her. Crump’s cruiser followed the woman’s vehicle to Dorothy B. Oven Park where, according to the affidavit he had sex with her, before leaving. The victim told investigators she worried she’d get into trouble if she didn’t comply with his demands.
The case went to the state attorney's office and Crump was arrested in March. He lied to investigators telling them he first met the women weeks prior at Governor’s Square Mall and that they had a pre-existing sexual relationship. But Crump and Akbar have argued the sex, while bad judgement, was consensual.
“What this is going to come down to is whether he was actually using his authority as a law enforcement officer when he had sex with the person that he stopped. And so it comes down to consent. And I believe, based on reading the probable cause, that’s what’s going to come out in the end, we’ll see it was consensual," Akbar said following Crump's arrest.
Crump did not testify in his trial, but his accuser did. A case management hearing has been set for September fourth.
