Pubdate: Tue, 01 May 2001 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2001 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265 Author: DAVID DOEGE, of the Journal Sentinel staff WOMAN CHOSE TO LIFT SHIRT, OFFICER SAYS Defendant Say He Was Shocked By Her Behavior A police officer told a Circuit Court jury Tuesday that he did not sexually assault a female motorist and order her to expose her breasts in the back of his squad car during a traffic stop, allegations that have him standing trial on two criminal charges. Terrence N. Gilbert said he was shocked when the woman raised her shirt and bra to her neck and speculated that she did so voluntarily to avoid a search for contraband by a female officer. "I said, 'Damn, why did you do that?' " Gilbert testified on the second day of his trial on charges that carry prison terms totaling more than 15 years. "I was surprised she did that." Gilbert also denied the woman's allegation that he found a small quantity of marijuana in her clothing and offered to see to it that she didn't face any drug charges if she agreed to meet him the next day and perform a "lap dance." Gilbert insisted that he innocently agreed to meet the woman when she telephoned him for what he believed to be a date. "I thought she was fairly attractive," Gilbert said under questioning by defense attorney Gerald P. Boyle. "I wasn't going to turn it down." Under cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney Jon N. Reddin, Gilbert said he didn't perceive a professional problem with dating a woman he had ticketed and explained that he considered her fair game for a date because she revealed her breasts to him the day before. And, he acknowledged that in a taped telephone conversation he never asked the woman what she was talking about when she repeatedly asked him if he would make her potential marijuana case vanish if she met him for a date. "Did you at any time say, 'I don't know what you're talking about? You didn't have any weed'?" Reddin asked. "No," Gilbert replied. Jurors in the case against Gilbert were expected to begin considering his fate this morning after hearing closing arguments from the attorneys. Gilbert, 33, is standing trial on one misdemeanor count of fourth-degree sexual assault and one felony count of misconduct in office concerning the woman's allegations about what happened during her Jan. 25 traffic stop in the 4700 block of N. 37th St. He was arrested the following night when he went to the woman's workplace to meet her. The woman was there with police officers after contacting them with her allegations. Gilbert also is standing trial on two additional counts of misconduct in office relating to allegations from two other women who have said that he asked them to expose themselves in various ways after they had been arrested on drug charges following a traffic stop on Oct. 13 in the 1800 block of W. Locust St. They did not make their allegations until after Gilbert was charged in the Jan. 25 stop. Gilbert's account of the matters came one day after jurors heard the women's allegations. Under questioning from Boyle, Gilbert insisted there was no basis for a drug case against the woman ticketed in January because he found no marijuana in her pocket as she contended when he searched her on the street while his partner searched a car she had been driving with expired license plates. The candy tin that she said contained about $5 worth of marijuana held nothing but tobacco, according to Gilbert. He told Boyle, "I didn't know what she was talking about" when she repeatedly brought marijuana into the telephone conversation that led to the rendezvous and, ultimately, his arrest. "I wanted to go out with her," Gilbert said when asked why he told her, "You'll be taken care of." "I was confirming a date." The trial this week is Gilbert's second in criminal court. In June 1997, Gilbert was charged with disorderly conduct after being accused of drawing his gun while off duty and sticking it in the face of a 13-year-old boy. Gilbert contended he feared for his safety, brandished his gun and chased the boy and a group of young men after one of them threw a beer bottle at his car. A jury found him not guilty. Gilbert, an officer for eight years, has been suspended from duty since his arrest in January. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart