DPS Trooper Not Guilty of Theft

DALLAS (AP) — A Texas trooper has been acquitted of theft in a videotaped traffic stop as another officer allegedly did roadside body cavity searches of two women.
The Dallas Morning News (http://dallasne.ws/15NAKTO ) reported Tuesday that Department of Public Safety Trooper David Farrell was found not guilty Friday of theft by a public servant.

Farrell denied stealing hydrocodone pills during the 2012 stop in Irving after he reported seeing two women throw cigarette butts out the window. No drugs were found. Farrell's lawyer says one woman took the stand but testified she never saw the trooper take her pills.

Both women reached a $185,000 settlement with the state in a civil rights lawsuit.

The trooper accused of the search, Kelly Helleson, was fired and awaits trial on sexual assault and official oppression counts.

Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com