Victim Challenges Facts Of Affidavit, City Misplaces Public Records Related To Incident
The story of the arrest of former Cordell City Councilman Joseph Boecker took a strange turn last week when the victim of the alleged hit-and-run incident, Cathleen White, told The Cordell Beacon that the probable cause affidavit upon which the arrest was based was factually incorrect.
According to the affidavit, which was signed under oath Feb. 13, 2020, nearly six weeks after the incident, by Officer Trenton Maisano, he was dispatched to the intersection of Middle and South streets in Cordell at appoximately 11:00 a.m. on Jan. 4, 2020, to investigate a hit-and-run. Maisano recounted the details of the collision and wrote that he personally interviewed a witness, obtained video footage from a nearby security camera, checked the victim, and photographed the vehicle. He further claimed that he went to Boecker’s residence and found the white Dodge Durango believed to be the suspect vehicle. He then, reportedly, activated his body camera, interviewed Boecker, and issued traffic citations.
The problem with the affidavit and the story it contains, said White, is that Maisano was never on the scene, never interacted with her, and was not part of the investigation. It was, according to White, Officer Michael Cody who was dispatched to the scene and who conducted the investigation.
White provided The Beacon with a copy of the Official Oklahoma Traffic Collision Report, dated Jan. 4, 2020. It was completed by Cody, not Maisano. Washita County Sheriff’s dispatch logs confirm that Cody, not Maisa no, was dispatched to the scene of the accident. The logs indicate that Maisano didn’t come on shift until 4:00 p.m. that day, roughly five hours after the incident.
The City of New Cordell refused to provide documents related to the incident in response to an open records request filed by The Cordell Beacon. The Beacon requested the Jan. 4, 2020, report, copies of the citations allegedly issued Jan. 4 and the disposition of those citations in city court, the referenced body camera footage, and police department time records showing which officers were on duty that day, and at what times.
In response to the records request, Cordell city administrator J.C. Moser told The Beacon that none of the records requested were available. Not only does the city not have the original citations and the body camera footage, but apparently the city also failed to maintain city court records on the original citations and police department time and payroll records.
Moser sent a brief letter. “In response to your request for open records,” he wrote. “After extensive research the items you requested either do not exist or we do not have them.” Moser suggested checking with Washita County for the records. Washita County District Attorney Angela Marsee confirmed that she had copies of the original citations in her case file, but would not confirm any specific information as the case is still pending in District Court.
Cordell Police Chief Brandon Rogers did not return messages left seeking comment on the situation.
White said she was aware that calling the affidavit into question might impact the case against Boecker, but said she just wanted to make sure the facts were correct.