Tape reveals drunk state of alleged rape victim in Duke lacrosse case

Fox News:

The woman alleging she was raped by players on Duke University's lacrosse team was "just passed out drunk" in someone else's car on the night she claims the attack took place, according to a police recording.

The recording, obtained by The Associated Press, is of the voice of one of the first police officers to see the woman the night after the alleged assault.

The taped conversation, which took place about 1:30 a.m. March 14, occurred about five minutes after a grocery store security guard called 911 to report a woman in the parking lot who would not get out of someone else's car.

A joint press conference was scheduled for 8:45 a.m. Friday morning. Participants will include North Carolina Central University Chancellor James Ammons, Duke President Richard Brodhead and Durham Mayor Bill Bell. The recording was released a day before Duke was to host a meeting with black community leaders to discuss the case.

Since the allegations were made, there have been protests at both Duke University and NCCU in Durham, where the alleged victim attended school.

In an interview with FOX News earlier this week, Durham attorney Bill Thomas, who represents one of the lacrosse players, eluded to the fact that the woman was drunk and that perhaps she made up the story about being raped to get herself out of trouble with the police.

During the recorded conversation, the officer gave the dispatcher the police code for an intoxicated person and said the woman was unconscious. When asked whether she needed medical help, the officer said: "She's breathing and appears to be fine. She's not in distress. She's just passed-out drunk."

The black woman, a 27-year-old stripper and student at NCCU, told police she was raped and beaten by three white men around midnight at an off-campus party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team. The racially charged allegations have led the university to cancel the team's season and accept the resignation of its coach.

No charges have been filed, but District Attorney Mike Nifong has said he believes a crime was committed. Attorneys for the players have said DNA tests failed to connect any players to the alleged attack, and they have urged Nifong to drop his investigation.

Several defense attorneys say they expect the district attorney to ask a grand jury Monday to issue charges. There has been no official word, however, on whether Nifong intends to present the allegations then. His next opportunity would come until two weeks later.

"Rest up on Sunday," said attorney Kerry Sutton.

Defense lawyers have said time-stamped photographs taken by the players show that the accuser was drunk and already had suffered some injuries when she arrived at the house for the party.

The recording is consistent with "what I have seen of the photo evidence before," Sutton said. Those photos, she said, showed that she was "way beyond where you would put somebody behind the wheel of a car."

The description of the woman's medical exam — which Nifong has said is his basis for believing a rape occurred — does not mention her being drunk. It states only that the woman's injuries and behavior were consistent with having been raped, sexually assaulted and having suffered a traumatic experience.

The woman has told police she and another stripper hired to dance at the party arrived at 11:30 p.m. March 13. The pair reportedly left the house a short time later, fearing for their safety. The accuser told police the two were coaxed back into the house with an apology, at which point they were separated. That's when she said she was dragged into a bathroom and raped, beaten and choked for a half hour.

At 12:53 a.m., police received a 911 call from a woman complaining that she had been called racial slurs by white men gathered outside the home where the party took place.

The defense has said it believes the second dancer at the party made that call. The 911 call from the grocery store security guard was placed at 1:22 a.m.

In it, the caller says, "Um, the problem is ... it's a lady in somebody else's car and she will not get out of their car. She's like, she's like intoxicated, drunk or something. She's, I mean, she won't get out of the car, period."

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