A Rhode Island cop facing termination after his arrest for drunken driving is accused of sending lewd text messages to a woman he collared for DUI, court records show.
Scott Cole, who was suspended from the East Greenwich Police Department after a DUI arrest last April, appeared in court Monday to testify against the 27-year-old female suspect he pulled over in July in East Greenwich, according to court records cited by WPRI.
However, about a month after the arrest, the woman filed a complaint obtained by the station that claims Cole reached out to her via voicemail and text messages on the same day she was arrested, including one text he sent to lighten her spirits after the ordeal.
“I’ve gotten one before it’s not the end of the world trust me,” the message read.
Cole was “hitting on me/flirting with me,” the woman wrote in her complaint. The officer also sent her a lewd picture on the afternoon of her arrest, according to the complaint.
“I was flabbergasted,” the woman wrote. “He seemed to have all the control and I didn’t want to upset him.”
The woman’s misdemeanor DUI trial was postponed, WPRI reports.
Cole, meanwhile, declined to comment when approached by a reporter following the court appearance.
“I’m just here for a trial,” Cole said.
East Greenwich Police Chief Stephen Brown refused to discuss details of Cole’s termination process, but confirmed that the officer remained suspended with pay following his arrest.
Cole, a member of the department since 2016, was driving a white Ford Fusion that rear-ended a blue Chevy Equinox in West Warwick, according to a police report obtained by WJAR.
Cole, who was unsteady on his feet and had slurred speech, told an officer he was coming from his brother’s house when he took his eyes off the road for a second before slamming into the Equinox, according to the report. He was charged with DUI first offense and refusal to submit to a chemical test.
Brown refused to discuss the details of Cole’s arrest at the time, but said he was a “very good officer” who had never had any prior disciplinary issues.
Cole could not be reached for comment by The Post on Tuesday.