Patrick Kane Was Chauffeured By Off-Duty Cop Night Of Alleged Rape
By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Aug 17, 2015 3:23PM
Patrick Kane warms up on the ice in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Patrick Kane was chauffeured by an off-duty police lieutenant on the night he was accused of raping a young woman at his home outside Buffalo.
Lt. Thomas English told The Buffalo News that he drove Kane, one of his male friends, the young woman who has accused Kane of raping her, and her friend in the early morning of Aug. 2. English said that investigators with the District Attorney's Office have interviewed him for the Kane case.
Kane and the other passengers had been partying at SkyBar before returning to his home outside Buffalo. English says he didn't stick around after dropping his passengers off. The victim in the case alleges that Kane overpowered and raped her afterward, leaving bite and scratch marks on her body. She called a relative before heading to a hospital where police were notified.
English admits that he has no way of knowing what happened in the moments after he dropping off the passengers. He also said that he hasn't spoken to Kane since allegations were made against him. Still, he told The Buffalo News that he supports Kane. He calls Kane a longtime family friend and says that Kane has employed him for the last five years.
English disputes the version of events offered by friends of the victim and law enforcement. Her friends said that she didn't want to go to Kane's home but was talked into it by a friend. However, English says that both women were interested: "It was a mutual agreement to go hang out at the house."
Kane's attorney Paul J. Cambria Jr., who reportedly was also at SkyBar that night, says that he considers observations by English and SkyBar’s owner Mark Croce key to Kane's defense. Croce offered up comments derided as victim-blaming, saying that he saw a woman flirting with Kane that night—even though he wasn't sure if the woman in question was Kane's accuser. Cambria calls the pair "eyewitnesses" though neither were at Kane's house when the alleged rape occurred.
It's worth noting that even if Kane's accuser did flirt with him earlier in the evening and wanted to go to his home, as Croce and English say, that doesn't mean that they had consensual sex.
The police department is conducting an internal investigation into whether English's actions that night were on the up-and-up. It's legal for English to hold a second job as long as his paperwork is in order, so investigators are checking on that. English was scheduled to work that night. Authorities say he took off half his shift for "personal time" though English said he took the whole night off. It doesn't sound like police believe English violated any laws or department protocols. A police official told The Buffalo News: "We are not aware of any allegations of improper activity by the off-duty officer in dealing with Kane or the alleged victim that night."
No charges have been filed against Kane.
Related:
Accuser: Blackhawks' Patrick Kane Overpowered And Raped Her, Leaving Bite And Scratch Marks
Friends Of Woman Accusing Patrick Kane Of Rape Fire Back At Victim-Blaming
How To Be A Blackhawks Fan When Your Star Player Is Accused Of Rape