POLICE MISCONDUCT
OFF THE WIRE
by JADE MINGUS / KVUE News
A Georgetown police officer is on paid administrative leave during an excessive force investigation.
Internal affairs at the Georgetown Police Department and the Texas Rangers are investigating exactly what took place Monday evening in a Georgetown neighborhood.
Travis Cox, 22, now has his mouth wired shut and is recovering from a broken jaw. He says a Georgetown police officer is responsible.
"She came up and kicked me in the face," said Cox.
Cox recently graduated from the University of Texas, and is now interviewing at medical schools. However, his focus has shifted after an incident Monday night with a Georgetown police officer.
He says he was at a house party in a Georgetown neighborhood when police kicked open the door Monday night before midnight. He says he had only been at the house for a couple of minutes.
His 20-year-old sister, Kiri Cox, was also at the party. She said about 20 young adults were at the home drinking and hanging out.
She said she heard police yell for everyone to get on the ground. Kiri says she saw her brother was hurt minutes later.
"He lifted his head, and he had blood all on the side of his face. I felt it inside, and I thought, 'Oh man, they did that to my brother and messed his face up,'" Kiri Cox said.
Travis Cox says Georgetown Police officer Shanna Shelly told him to get on the ground. He says when he was down she kicked him in the face, and then put her foot on his neck. Cox says it was unprovoked.
Shelly is on administrative leave with pay while she is investigated for excessive force.
Travis Cox's parents say a police supervisor told them a different story than what their son said happened.
"She has the audacity to tell her supervisor that he was trying to get up and she forced him to the ground by dropping her knee into his back. She said that was the only contact she had with him,"
said Cox's Mother, Marcy Urban.
Cox's parents say the police supervisor also told them officers first entered the Georgetown home Monday night because they heard a cry for help.
"You can't use a flimsy excuse like that to break in a house. No one is safe. You aren't safe. Nobody is if they can come up with a bogus excuse to bust into any house," said Cox's father Michael.
Georgetown police released a statement that read in part, "The police department takes these allegations very seriously, and is committed to conducting a thorough investigation into the matter."
Thursday the department declined to release any additional information, including Shelly's side of the story.
Travis Cox is now recovering from his injuries. He has racked up $10,000 in medical bills including jaw surgery.
