Colorado police officer acquitted of 2024 sexual assault
A jury found a Colorado police officer not guilty of sexual assault in a case stemming from an alleged 2023 incident.
Charges were first filed against Commerce City Police Officer Michael Parker last year after court documents showed a woman claimed Parker raped her after they met on a dating app. He was placed on administrative leave when the charges were filed.
The case is now sealed, but text messages obtained by CBS News Colorado last year, as part of the court documents, showed that the accuser said she had no memory of consenting to have sex with Parker. In those text messages, after she accused him of raping her, he denied it, saying, "I would never ever ever in my life do that to someone !"
He went on to write, "I swear to god I didn't take advantage of you! I didn't do that! I would never jeopardize my career."
Parker was arrested at his home by Fort Lupton police on Feb. 22, 2024 in connection with the alleged October 2023 incident and later released from the Weld County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
CBS News Colorado reached out to Commerce City police for comment on its intentions to reinstate Parker. A department spokesperson said they would respond on Monday.
