A Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been fired for improper conduct with a woman while on duty, a sheriff’s office internal affairs report said.
Deputy James Wright admitted to hugging and kissing a 26-year-old woman in May, as well as rubbing her back and groping her buttocks underneath her clothing, according to the report.
Wright claimed it was all consensual, but the sheriff’s office deemed it a violation of agency policy.
From the Sheriff’s Report:
It stated that Lehigh Regional Hospital called for a deputy May 24 to help with a woman who’d “eloped” out of her room and wasn’t letting medical staff help her — a 26-year-old woman had a minor head injury after she drank a bottle of wine and tripped over her dog — so LCSO Deputy Wright gave her a courtesy ride home, the report said.
When they got to the Lehigh Acres home, Wright walked her in to help the woman find her dog. She was crying about the incident at the hospital, so Wright hugged her “repeatedly telling her she was a good girl and everything would work out,” the report said.
She told investigators she thought the deputy was “just being nice” at first.
Wright said the hug was to console her but he “(felt) the vibe of the encounter changing.”
The pair gave conflicting stories to investigators about what happened next, but both agree that they kissed and Wright grabbed her buttocks under her pants. She said she pulled away and he said he realized it was inappropriate, so they stopped. Then he asked for her phone number and left.
Investigators looked into the possibility of a criminal charge but found no such evidence and said the encounter was consensual.
When asked why he thought the woman came forward the next day, “Deputy Wright surmised (the woman) reported the incident because he didn’t call her,” according to the report.