3rd Woman Accuses Cop in Strip Case

A Long Island police officer accused of forcing women to strip after they failed breath tests was suspended without pay Friday as a third woman came forward with a similar story.

Two of the women claimed Frank Wright, a nine-year Suffolk County police veteran, forced them to strip after they failed alcohol breath tests. One said she was forced to walk home in freezing cold wearing only underwear and shoes.

A third woman, who came forward Friday, said that after she failed a breath test, Wright made her pull up her blouse and bra while he pointed a flashlight at her.

The women said that in return for their actions, they were not charged.

No criminal charges have been filed against Wright, whose attorney declined to comment.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner John Gallagher said Wright has admitted telling one of the women that “he made men take their clothes off and walk home naked for drunk driving but that he never suggested that she do it.” However, Gallagher said the officer denied actually making men or women take their clothes off in the past.

Julianna Rubio, 19, tearfully described how an officer fitting Wright’s description stopped her at 4:30 a.m. Dec. 27. He drove her to an isolated parking lot, told her she had failed a breath test, and then ordered her to take off her clothes.

“I didn’t know what to do. I was terrified,” she said. “He stood there laughing at me, asking me if I was cold, asking me if I was embarrassed.”

Angelina Torres, 27, the first woman to come forward, said the officer told her early on New Year’s Day that she could either go to jail or take her clothes off. After walking home in the snow wearing only underwear and shoes, she called 911.

Tracy Deon, 34, said she encountered Wright in September after she pulled off a road and fell asleep. “I pulled up my blouse and he kept looking. I then pulled up my bra and he flashed the flashlight on me,” she said.