Texas police officer fired for alleged sexual assault, but video shows incident was part of consensual threesome: lawsuit

A police officer in Texas was arrested and fired for alleged sexual assault – even though authorities were aware of footage proving the incident was part of a consensual threesome, a new lawsuit says.

Freddie Douglas, a 43-year-old father of two and former El Campo Police Department Officer of the Year, says in court documents his life was thrown into disarray in December when Amanda Zawieruszynski, 40, accused him and his longtime friend John Marks, 41, of raping her.

Zawieruszynski, who lived across the street from Marks and was dating him, claimed the men forced themselves on her when she visited Marks's home in Manvel, just outside Houston, for a late-night swim on Nov. 8, the complaint states, noting that the plaintiff is white and the men are black.

“She claimed she tried to fight Marks off. She claimed he then pushed her toward Douglas, who had sex with her while she tried to fight him off,” Douglas's lawsuit, first seen by the Daily Mail, states.

But the indictment tells a completely different version of events from the alleged victim's perspective – a scenario supported by extensive footage from Marks' security system that was later confirmed by prosecutors.

“Douglas met AZ [Zawieruszynski] for the first time at John Marks' house. … It was the day before Freddie Douglas' birthday. He and John Marks had planned to go to a Rockets game that evening,” the lawsuit states, describing how Zawieruszynski sent Marks several text messages to arrange for her to come over and go swimming when she returned.

When Douglas and Marks returned home, Zawieruszynski came over, they had a few drinks and went into the water, the lawsuit says.

“No one got drunk. At some point, John Marks and AZ began having consensual sex in the pool. Afterward, AZ wanted to have sex with Freddie Douglas and did so. This sexual activity was completely consensual on the part of all parties involved,” the lawsuit states.

But about a month later, Zawieruszynski turned around and told police that Douglas and Marks had forced themselves on her and needed to be locked up immediately, the papers say.

On Dec. 7, Douglas was at work when the El Campo police chief approached him and told him he was being arrested by Manvel police based on Zawieruszynski's allegations, the document states.

Douglas's lawsuit states that that was the first time he or Marks heard anything unusual about the night at the pool, and that Manvel officers never questioned him or included him in the investigation before his arrest.

Although he immediately told Manvel police that he had video evidence that would exonerate him, Douglas was ignored and instead thrown behind bars, where he spent a night in a freezing cold cell without a blanket, the lawsuit says.

Meanwhile, officers discussing the recordings during a search of Marks' home were heard on the home's security system, but they did not investigate or charge the couple, the lawsuit says.

“Within minutes of Freddie Douglas' arrest, the Manvel Police Department knew there was objective evidence that would determine who was telling the truth, AZ or Douglas and Marks,” the lawsuit states. In addition, no one examined the footage.

After posting a $100,000 bond with the help of his mother – including $10,000 in non-refundable fees – Douglas sold his home and belongings in a “distress sale” to pay his legal fees, his lawsuit says.

But his reputation had already been ruined, the documents say.

Douglas, who had served with the El Campo police department since 2011, made headlines in his small town, court records show.

“As Freddie Douglas moved around the small town of El Campo, the stares and whispers followed him everywhere; to the grocery store, to Walmart, to the gas station, at traffic lights. In a town like El Campo, when a police officer is arrested and summarily fired from the police force, everyone assumes the defendant is guilty,” the lawsuit states.

“Only Freddie Douglas' closest friends and family supported him during this time. The result almost broke Freddie Douglas' spirit. His future looked very bleak,” it continues.

Douglas was saved only by contacting the Brazoria County District Attorney, who claimed Manvel police officers never came to his office for a recommendation for charges and, had they been consulted, would have recommended against charges based on the video evidence, the lawsuit says.

But despite all this, the police refused to back down, and it was only when the prosecutor took the case before a grand jury in Brazoria County that the charges were finally dropped, the newspapers say.

According to the lawsuit, Zawieruszynski was never charged with filing a false report.

Now Douglas is suing the Manvel Police Department and several of her relatives, as well as Zawieruszynski, for damages alleging defamation, civil rights violations and malicious prosecution.

Manvel police did not respond to The Post's requests for comment.