Posted on: November 29, 2023, 04:15h.
Last updated on: November 29, 2023, 08:30h.
A now-fired Las Vegas police officer is facing serious charges after he allegedly threatened a woman with prison if she didn’t have sex with him in the Sante Fe Station parking garage, 8 News Now reports.
Until his arrest in mid-November, Wendell Phillips, 38, was an officer with the Clark County Parks Police Department. He has been charged with oppression under color of office, misconduct of a public officer, and coercion with force or threat of force in relation to the incident.
The alleged victim told police she first encountered Phillips in Sunset Park when she reported an incident to him in early October that involved a shooting and domestic battery.
The officer drove the woman to a secluded “dune” area of the park and began unzipping his pants, according to the police report seen by 8 News Now, but he stopped to speak with a detective over his radio. He then ordered the woman out of the car and told her to wait for him in another area of the park.
‘You Belong to Me’
When he returned, Phillips was driving his personal vehicle and dressed in casual clothes. He then drove the woman to Sante Fe Station, police said.
At this point, he told her: “You belong to me now, you don’t belong to the pimp anymore, you don’t [expletive] anybody, you don’t suck anybody unless I say so,” according to the report.
Phillips reportedly told the woman she could be sent to prison for three years for prostitution and theft, but should she comply with him, he would provide her with food and housing.
“The officer knew she had prior arrests for stealing, so the officer told [her] she could go to prison for three years with the information he had,” police said. “The officer told her, the only way to save her life was to ‘shut up and [expletive] him,’” documents said, adding that “She stated they had sex in the backseat of his vehicle.”
Phillips Arrested
Afterward, the pair went to a thrift store near the intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and Rancho Drive. While there, the two had a disagreement, and the alleged victim was able to get away and flag down a passing Metro Police Officer.
Police identified Phillips using surveillance footage from the store and questioned him at his home on October 7. He claimed he had simply given the woman a ride, but later admitted to having sex with her, according to documents. He was arrested on November 16.
Having joined the Clark County Park Police Department just months earlier, Phillips was “released from employment” on the day of his arrest.
He posted $50K bail on November 20 and was released with an ankle-monitoring bracelet. His next appearance in court will be December 27.
