Fort Worth police officer jailed for family violence now accused of witness tampering
A Fort Worth police officer jailed in April on a domestic violence charge now faces two new charges.
Damon Cole, 44, of Weatherford, who was known for traveling across the country to cheer up and encourage sick and disabled children while dressed as a superhero, was arrested after an April 29 incident stemming from allegations that he beat himself up during an encounter with a former romantic partner.
Cole, who has been in the Tarrant County Jail since a second arrest on April 29, has been temporarily suspended from the Fort Worth Police Department since May 7 pending the outcome of an administrative investigation, according to authorities.
Cole has now been accused of promising a woman marriage and help with obtaining legal residency in the United States if she would recant earlier statements made to investigators that triggered his initial arrest, according to an indictment.
The indictment alleges Cole tried to persuade his former lover, identified as a witness or a potential witness, to falsify or withhold information concerning an internal affairs investigation into his earlier behavior.
Cole’s initial arrest stems from a March 26 domestic disturbance call near the 7300 block of Cascade Court, where officers say a woman told them that Cole tried to force her to hit him two days earlier, according to a probable cause arrest warrant.
Later on March 26, Cole forced his way inside the woman’s home, and when the woman said she was going to call 911, Cole grabbed her wrists, knocked her phone away and hit himself in the head with his baton, the warrant said. The woman tried to stop Cole from hitting himself and told her daughter to call 911, the warrant said.
Cole is facing a total of five charges and now has a different attorney, Paul Enlow. In addition to the witness tampering charge, Cole faces two violation of protective order charges, an interfering with an emergency call charge, and a continuous violence against family charge.
Enlow, who represented Cole in a divorce case that closed in March, said he believes the allegations of his client’s former love interest are false.
“When someone is accused of what he (Cole) is accused of doing, they are trying to get someone else in trouble and he never tried to get her in trouble,” Enlow said.
Enlow said most cases do not end in trial and he has just recently began reviewing case documents. Any relationship between Cole and the woman making these allegations is over, Enlow said.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to work something out,” Enlow said.
Cole was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on April 8 but was released from jail after spending a little more than four hours in custody, according to records with the Tarrant County District Clerk’s Office. Total bonds for Cole were set at $6,500 on the initial two charges, court records show.
Cole was arrested a second time on April 29 after police were called to an apartment in the 7300 block of Cascade Court, according to police.
Cole had previously been served with an emergency protective order prohibiting him from being at this location and he was subsequently charged with violating a protective order, police said.
Cole was known for traveling across the country to visit children with cancer while dressed up like superheroes from Marvel and DC comics.
“He’s done a wonderful job working with kids over the years,” Enlow said. “He’s put a lot of time and effort into working with kids, and this man has a wonderful heart. When you have that kind of heart, these kind of allegations just hurt that much more.”
This story includes information from Star-Telegram archives.
