A 34-year-old former Cedar Hill police officer was sentenced to 300 days in the Ellis County jail and denied probation last week in connection with a Class A misdemeanor charge of official oppression.
According to the Ellis County district attorney’s office, Mercer was driving a marked police vehicle and dressed in uniform on Aug. 7, 2024, when he pulled over a woman before conducting field sobriety tests, arresting her and taking her to a Midlothian hospital for a blood draw.
Once she was brought back to the vehicle, she told Mercer she had marijuana in her left pocket before the two kissed. The district attorney’s office said Mercer never booked the marijuana into evidence or mentioned it in his police report.
Mercer then took her to the Navarro College parking lot in Midlothian, turned off his lights and body camera, and asked the woman to perform sexual acts, which she refused, according to the district attorney’s office.
Mercer turned himself in on Dec. 16, 2024, and resigned from the department, rather than “face termination proceedings,” according to a previous police statement. He was under investigation for a separate incident when the city received a complaint about the August misconduct, police previously said.
During the punishment phase of the trial, testimony revealed that it wasn’t Mercer’s first sexual advancement toward someone he had arrested. At least two more incidents were uncovered in which Mercer had turned off his body camera to hide his behavior, according to the district attorney’s office.
Assistant County and District Attorneys Christopher Schwieg and Joshua Atilano prosecuted the case; Cedar Hill Assistant Police Chief Colin Chenault and Texas Ranger Woody Gosser investigated.
“The citizens of Ellis County deserve to know they are going to be safe when they are pulled over,” Schwieg said. “No one deserves to feel unsafe or scared due to the actions of those employed to keep the community safe.”
The district attorney’s office said the jury’s verdict sent a “clear message” that Ellis County holds law enforcement officials to a high standard.