A black woman Orange patrol officer is under a department investigation because she posed for photographs with black demonstrators on 16th Street July 9.
One person at the demonstration used the photographs in a rap music video that has been posted online. The lawyer for Officer Veronica Woodle said she did not know she was being filmed for a video.
Thursday evening, several dozen people attended a rally on the front lawn of Orange City Hall to support Officer Woodle.
Orange District 4 Councilor Annette Pernell attended the rally and said the complaint was filed by another council member, Pat Pullen, who represents single-member district 1. Pullen is a retired Orange police captain.
Pullen was in Galveston on Thursday and told KOGT by phone that he could not comment on whether or not he filed the complaint because it is an ongoing investigation. He said he will talk freely after the investigation.
On his Facebook page July 11, Pullen posted about Woodle’s photograph “This is an embarrassment to our police department and city. It is also against the rules and regulations of the Orange Police Department.” He said he was going to file a complaint.
Woodle now has two lawyers, one from the police union and Terrance Allison (below), representing her personally. Allison was at the rally and told the group Woodle’s parents have both served more than 30 years as law officers. She is also the mother of two. He said she had to go to the hospital because of the stress of the complaint.
Officer Woodle was doing her job the day of the demonstration, Allison said. She told the group to stay on the sidewalk and not to go on private property or out in the roadway.
“Veronica in my opinion was doing what we want law enforcement to do,” Allison said. “If you go back and look at video at what was going on in Dallas prior to the shootings you will see police people laughing with the protestors, walking with them, taking pictures with them. You see police people on video doing the wobble. That’s a good thing. What people are realizing that we have got to learn how to build a bridge to people. And I can imagine that’s what Veronica was trying to do that day.”
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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