WELCH, W.V. — A police officer in West Virginia has been arrested on charges of stalking and harassment after investigators say he pulled a woman over in a police cruiser and propositioned her to have sex with him.

The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office arrested Patrick Sherman McKinney, 52,  an officer in the Welch Police Department and the current police chief of Gary, West Virginia, after conducting an investigation into a complaint about an officer stalking and harassing a woman, Sheriff Martin B. West said. 

“The victim, a female, came into the sheriff’s office and filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office stating that she has been pulled over and asked for sexual intercourse,” West said. “She stated that this has been occurring over a period of the last couple of months.”

According to a copy of the criminal complaint, the victim said that since July 2014 McKinney has been using his official capacity as an officer with the city of Welch to repeatedly follow and harass her and her family.

The report said the woman stated that she repeatedly told McKinney that she didn’t want to have any further contact with him, but he continued to follow her when she came into his jurisdiction. The report added that McKinney used his patrol vehicle to initiate a traffic stop of the victim’s vehicle to proposition her to have sexual intercourse with him. The victim’s 8-year-old daughter was present to witness the incident, causing fear and emotional stress to the small child, the report said. The report also says McKinney and the woman had been involved in a relationship, but it had ended.

West said McKinney made bond and is awaiting trial on the charges.

McKinney contacted the Bluefield Daily Telegraph and said he could not comment per his employer’s instructions and attorney’s advice.

“I just hope the outcome is watched as well as the beginning,” McKinney said.

Jordan writes for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph