Jamison Stiles
Washington County Sheriff
Update: Anyone with additional information concerning former Officer Jamison Stiles is encouraged to contact the Fayetteville Police Department’s Investigations Unit at 479-587-3520. Just request to speak to a supervisor.
A former Fayetteville police officer was arrested last week in connection with rape, second-degree sexual assault, burglary and disclosure to an unauthorized person.
Jamison Stiles, 31, of Fayetteville is accused of sexually assaulting one woman in October and another woman in July. Both alleged incidents occurred while Stiles was still employed as an officer with the Fayetteville Police Department.
Fayetteville police received a report on Nov. 10 from a woman who said she had been sexually assaulted on Oct. 26 by a uniformed police officer. The woman identified Stiles from a photo line-up, and an internal investigation began three days later on Nov. 13.
According to a preliminary arrest report, Stiles and another officer arrested an intoxicated woman at 12:03 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 on North Block Avenue in downtown Fayetteville. Instead of arresting her, Stiles took the woman to her home at the Cliffs Apartments at 12:36 a.m.
Stiles returned to the area twice – once at 2 a.m. and again at 4 a.m. The woman said she awoke naked at around 4:30 a.m. to find a uniformed police officer standing over her. After a brief conversation, the officer pulled the woman’s blankets away, grabbed her breast and left the apartment.
Detectives said Stiles lived in the same complex where he worked as a security guard, which gave him access to a master key to all of the apartments.
Stiles was placed on administrative leave, and was relieved of his badge and gun on Dec. 4, according to a news release. Stiles was fired on Dec. 16 for several policy violations, including failure to cooperate with the investigation.
Stiles had worked for the Fayetteville Police Department as a patrol officer since January 2011. Before that, he worked as an officer with the Rogers Police Department for about a year.
Second report
Police received a second report on Dec. 17 from a former department employee saying she had been sexually assaulted at her home by Stiles in early July while Stiles was on duty and wearing his full uniform.
The woman said she was leaving work at around 6 p.m. July 7 as Stiles was arriving for his overnight shift. She said Stiles watched her drive away, and that he later sent her text messages. Detectives said Stiles used his police computer to find the victim’s address after accessing her license plate records.
Stiles drove by the woman’s house at least four times that night before finally stopping early Monday morning to confront her in the driveway. After a long conversation, Stiles took the woman’s cell phone and began looking through her private photos “while moaning at them” before forcing his hands under her underwear twice, according to the report.
Stiles, who police said had no known prior criminal history before the incidents, was released on a $50,000 bond on Saturday.
Sgt. Craig Stout told reporters the case has certainly damaged the department’s reputation.
“Unfortunately, any time an incident like this happens, whether it’s in Fayetteville or somewhere across the country, it gives law enforcement a bad name,” said Stout. “We’re going to have to work very hard to rebuild trust with the community.”
