68-year-old woman who suffered multiple broken bones in OHP arrest now facing multiple charges

LOGAN COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – A great-grandmother who suffered multiple broken bones after an arrest by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper was back in court Monday, where she learned she’s facing four misdemeanor charges.

Back in May, 68-year-old Nancy Kemp was pulled over by a trooper near I-35 and Seward Road. 

“It’s unfortunate,” said Trooper Eric Foster the week of the arrest. “The trooper had seen signs of intoxication both with the driving behavior and with the suspect.” 

The trooper then began interviewing Kemp in the front seat of his patrol car, which is standard procedure, to complete a license check and “make sure she was safe to operate a motor vehicle before leaving.” 

Court records, filed Monday, say the trooper reported that Kemp had “red watery bloodshot eyes and slurred speech,” and “aggressively” opened the trooper’s door and slammed her left hand on his computer “in [an] attempt to take her license before fleeing.” 

Then a struggle began, according to the documents. 

The court documents say the trooper “struck” the 68-year-old in her face twice with his knee and once with his elbow “in order to gain compliance.” 

"After he got her into handcuffs, she fought and got out of the handcuffs and he had to fight her again to get her back in the handcuffs,” said Trooper Foster the week of the incident. 

The filing goes on to detail that the trooper then struck Kemp in the face with his knee two more times before he “gained compliance” and the 68-year-old was ultimately taken to jail. 

On Monday, Kemp was formally charged with improper use of multiple-beam rod-lighting equipment, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, or in the alternative operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a combination of alcohol and an intoxicating substance, obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest.

The trooper involved in the encounter has been cleared by the District Attorney and is able to go back to work, according to Trooper Foster. 

Kemp’s attorney April Coffin sent KFOR the following statement:

Note: The release Coffin is referring to in the statement was obtained by the Guthrie News Page.

Unfortunately, in a press release that her office provided to a local reporter but refused to provide to Kemp‘s counsel, the Logan County District Attorney, Laura Thomas, went to great lengths to defend and even justify the actions of Trooper Preston Cox (Badge #248). Instead of properly restraining Ms. Kemp if he thought that necessary, Trooper Cox brutally beat her, mostly while she was restrained, including multiple blows to “red zones“ (such as the face) that officers are trained to use as a last resort because of the risk to the victim of great bodily harm from such blows.

The DA’s press release was a jury speech to Logan County residents having little to do with the charges or evidence, apparently meant to manipulate potential jurors into turning a blind eye to Trooper Cox’s conduct and attempting to build a foundation for the State’s position in the forthcoming civil case, which is wholly outside of the purview of what she was elected to do. The fact is, Nancy Kemp was beaten half to death for misdemeanor offenses that are yet to be proven. The DA’s attempted justification boils down to the supposed protection of Trooper Cox, Ms. Kemp, and the public, but to suggest that the public believes that the severe injuries Ms. Kemp suffered at the hands of Trooper Cox are simply a part of the debt one owes to society for unproven misdemeanor charges is simply misguided.

Ms. Kemp sustained a broken nose, seven broken ribs, a broken foot, and multiple blows and bruising to her face and head and body. She also has internal bleeding from the encounter, and psychological scars that will last her lifetime. Once again, any attempted justification of this brutal assault by Trooper Cox simply defies logic.

It is my hope that the shameful refusal by the taxpayer-funded public body of the Logan (and Payne) County District Attorney’s office to provide the press release today is not indicative of issues to come with respect to evidence and courtroom tactics.

April Coffin, Gum, Puckett, Mackechnie, Coffin & Matula, LLP

OHP tells KFOR that the incident was captured on dash camera video. However, they say the video cannot be released yet because of the ongoing investigation.

Kemp is scheduled to be back in court September 8.