PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — A former part-time Maryland police officer was arrested and charged Monday for raping a woman after a traffic stop, police said.
A two-month investigation revealed that on Sept. 6 around 11:20 p.m., 30-year-old Martique Vanderpool and a second Fairmount Heights police officer conducted a traffic stop at Sheriff Road and Cabin Branch Drive in Capitol Heights.
The victim, an adult female, was the driver of a car and the only occupant. Police said during the stop Vanderpool asked the victim to step out of her car. She was then handcuffed.
Police said Vanderpool called for a tow truck to impound the victim's car, and she was taken back to the Fairmount Heights Police Department.
"While there, Vanderpool told the victim if she engaged in a sexual act with him, he would release her," a Prince George's County press release said. "The victim complied."
After Vanderpool sexually assaulted the woman, police said he issued her several citations, drove her to the impound lot and had her car released back to her.
Police said Vanderpool later resigned from the Fairmount Heights Police Department. He submitted his resignation dated Nov. 18 to be effective Nov. 23.
He was initially hired as a full-time officer in December 2017, but later voluntarily changed his status to part-time in late July 2019. The Fairmount Heights Police Chief requested Vanderpool be investigated by the Prince George's County Police Department Special Investigations Response Team.
Vanderpool is charged with first and second-degree rape, second-degree assault and other charges. He's being held without bond at the Department of Corrections.
Police are asking anyone who may have had a similar interaction with Vanderpool to call 301-856-2660.