#579 Jason Flom with Daniel Holtzclaw

**Connor Hall** (0:05)
Hey, it's Connor Hall, Senior Producer for Wrongful Conviction with some more case updates and behind the scenes insights. And there's a case that began back in 2014
This is the summer after Trayvon Martin's killer was acquitted. And then you had Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. And simultaneously, you had revelations about powerful men using their positions of power for sex. And in the midst of that, June 18th, 2014, Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw pulled over a swerving automobile and found some empty pill bottles. Now, following that interaction came accusations of sexual assault. Importantly, that were not corroborated by a rape kit. Additionally, the accuser described a different officer. And rather than reviewing the surveillance footage of the stop that occurred, not in a quiet cul de sac, but rather at a busy intersection, investigators took this opportunity to go fishing for other allegations against Daniel Holtzclaw, from specifically African American women with pending criminal charges. And they found 21 others with similar complaints. But were they about Daniel? One thing was for certain, this slew of stories looked like evidence of a serial rapist in blue.
But right off the bat, eight of those stories were disregarded. Then 13 went to trial and only eight led to convictions. Perhaps this was an instance where so much smoke must have meant fire. Because even in these cases, we see victims describing officers who were definitely not Daniel. As well as scenarios where Daniel could not have been present. Or there was some other dubious detail. Now we believe many of these allegations are credible, but that Daniel Holtzclaw just became a patsy for a jurisdiction that appears to be plagued by sexual violence at the hands of police. While the accusers received leniency in their pending charges for going along with the narrative. Since our coverage in 2019, all 13 of those that went to trial brought a civil suit against the city, the detectives and Daniel, which all came to interesting conclusions. Including depositions that exonerated Daniel. As well as a paltry settlement from the city for the accusers. While the suit against Daniel got dropped.
And perhaps after you hear this new edit, as well as some of that deposition audio, it might become more clear as to why.

**Jason Flom** (2:32)
At 2 a.m. on June 18th, 2014, Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw finished up his shift. On his way home in his police cruiser, he pulled over 57-year-old Jannie Ligons for a traffic violation at a busy intersection, where surveillance footage shows a normal traffic stop. Around three hours later, Ms. Ligons filed a complaint claiming that an officer forced her into oral sodomy. Her mouth swab came up empty for Daniel's DNA, as did his uniform for hers. But this allegation inexplicably launched an investigation focused on at-risk African-American women that Daniel had made contact with, bringing forth 21 alleged victims, including one man. Daniel became a rallying cry for everyone who doesn't want to see any cop abusing their power or sexually assaulting women. It all seemed to fit a grim and growing narrative, and a media circus ensued.
In this amazing and alarming episode, we will speak with Daniel's sister, Jennifer Holtzclaw, biologist Erica Fuchs, and we'll also take a phone call from an undisclosed correctional facility from former Oklahoma City Police Officer, Daniel Holtzclaw, who is currently serving a 263-year prison sentence in a maximum-security prison under his soon name for crimes he did not commit. This is Wrongful Conviction.
Welcome back to Wrongful Conviction. Today, we're going to be talking about the case of Daniel Holtzclaw, a former police officer from Oklahoma City. Wrongfully convicted, he's on the phone. So Daniel, I'm sorry you're here, but I'm glad you're on the phone.

**Daniel Holtzclaw** (4:18)
I appreciate you guys having me on, and my loved ones, and letting me be able to have the opportunity to definitely stick my side and express my innocence.

**Jason Flom** (4:27)
Well, we hope to be part of the solution, and with us in the studio, we have two extraordinary women. One is a biologist, Erica Fusch. Welcome to the show.

**Erica Fuchs** (4:38)
Thank you, Jason.

**Jason Flom** (4:39)
And with her is one of the most persistent and brave women I've come across. The sister of Daniel, Jennifer, is here. And without you, I can honestly say this wouldn't be happening.

**Jennifer Holtzclaw** (4:50)
Thank you for giving us the time.

**Jason Flom** (4:51)
And this whole thing happened in 2014, which was a very fraught time, shall we say? A lot of controversy around Ferguson and other, which continues to this day, of course.

**Daniel Holtzclaw** (5:05)
The Ferguson deal, what happened then? The Baltimore deal, what's going on there? So literally, the high of the storm, it was rough.