Daniel Holtzclaw#Media coverage

{{short description|American convicted rapist and former police officer}}

{{infobox criminal

| name = Daniel Holtzclaw

| birth_name = Daniel Ken Holtzclaw

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|12|10}}

| birth_place = Guam

| nationality = American

| education = Eastern Michigan University

| occupation = Former Oklahoma City Police Department patrol officer

| conviction = *First-degree rape (4 counts)

| sentence = Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole (263 years)

| country = United States

| states = Oklahoma

| imprisoned = Lexington Assessment and Reception Center

| victims = 8

| apprehended = August 21, 2014

}}

Daniel Ken Holtzclaw (born December 10, 1986) is a convicted rapist. He was convicted in December 2015 of multiple counts of rape, sexual battery, and other sex offenses while on duty as an Oklahoma City Police Officer.{{cite news| last=HELSEL|first=PHIL|publisher=NBC News|date=December 11, 2015| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-oklahoma-city-cop-daniel-holtzclaw-found-guilty-rapes-n478151|title=Ex-Oklahoma City Cop Daniel Holtzclaw Found Guilty of Rapes|access-date=May 21, 2016}}

Holtzclaw was convicted of eighteen counts involving eight different women. According to the police investigators, Holtzclaw abused his position as an officer by running background checks to find information that could be used to coerce victims into sex.{{cite news | last=Redden| first=Molly | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/11/daniel-holtzclaw-former-oklahoma-city-police-officer-guilty-rape |title=Daniel Holtzclaw: former Oklahoma City police officer guilty of rape|work=The Guardian|date=December 10, 2015}} During the trial, the defense questioned the victims' credibility during cross-examination, bringing up their criminal records.{{cite news|last1=Ng|first1=Alfred|last2=Silverstein|first2=Jason|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/jury-convicts-ex-oklahoma-rape-charges-article-1.2462256|title=Jury convicts ex-Oklahoma cop Daniel Holtzclaw of rape, sodomy charges; faces life in prison|work=Daily News|location=New York |date=December 11, 2015|access-date=December 11, 2015}} Of the thirteen women who accused Holtzclaw, several had criminal histories such as drug arrests, and all of them were African American.{{cite news|title=Former Oklahoma City cop convicted on rape charges|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/verdict-in-trial-of-oklahoma-cop-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-women-daniel-holtzclaw/|access-date=May 21, 2016|publisher=CBS News |agency=Associated Press |date=December 10, 2015}} The prosecution argued that victims were deliberately chosen by Holtzclaw for these reasons.{{cite news|last=Lussenhop |first=Jessica| url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34791191|title=Daniel Holtzclaw trial: Standing with 'imperfect' accusers|publisher=BBC News|date=November 13, 2015|access-date=December 11, 2015}}

Holtzclaw pleaded not guilty to all charges. On December 10, 2015, he was convicted on 18 of 36 charges, and on January 21, 2016, he was sentenced to 263 years in prison, a de facto sentence of life in prison.{{cite web | last=King | first=Shaun |author-link=Shaun King (activist) | title=KING: Cop accused of raping black women gets all white jury | work=Daily News|location=New York | date=November 4, 2015 | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-accused-raping-black-women-white-jury-article-1.2423160 | access-date=December 11, 2015}}{{cite news|last=Larimer|first=Sarah|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/08/ex-cop-on-trial-for-rape-used-power-to-prey-on-women-prosecutor-says/|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Ex-Oklahoma City cop Daniel Holtzclaw found guilty of multiple on-duty rapes|access-date=August 23, 2017|date=December 11, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Cavallier|first1=Andrea|title=Former Oklahoma City cop Daniel Holtzclaw sentenced to 263 years on rape charges|url=http://pix11.com/2016/01/21/former-oklahoma-city-cop-daniel-holtzclaw-convicted-on-rape-charges-after-preying-on-african-american-women/|access-date=January 21, 2016|work=Pix11|publisher=CNN, Associated Press|date=January 21, 2016}}

On August 1, 2019, Holtzclaw was denied an appeal by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, which upheld both his convictions and prison sentence.{{cite news|url=https://www.koco.com/article/court-to-rule-in-appeal-of-former-oklahoma-city-officer-convicted-of-rape/28576132#|title=Court upholds conviction, denies appeal of former Oklahoma City officer convicted of rape|first=Dillon|last=Richards|publisher=KOCO-TV|date=August 1, 2019|access-date=December 23, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/38abab5e04ce42c5a6d5897d38bf4e04|title=Oklahoma court upholds sentence for ex-cop convicted of rape|first=Ken|last=Miller|agency=Associated Press|date=August 1, 2019|access-date=December 23, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://kfor.com/news/court-to-rule-in-appeal-of-former-oklahoma-city-police-officer-convicted-of-rape/|title=Oklahoma appeals court denies former cop Daniel Holtzclaw's appeal|date=August 1, 2019}} The defense petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States on the basis that merging 17 cases together "strains credulity". On March 9, 2020, the Supreme Court refused the petition.{{Cite web|url=https://oklahoman.com/article/5657052/us-supreme-court-lets-stand-fired-oklahoma-city-police-officers-convictions/|title=U.S. Supreme Court lets stand fired Oklahoma City police officer's convictions|date=March 10, 2020|website=Oklahoman.com|access-date=March 13, 2020}}

Early life

Daniel Holtzclaw was born December 10, 1986, in the U.S. territory of Guam, to Eric, a white American, and a Japanese mother, Kumiko Holtzclaw.{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Goldie|title=Cop Used Whiteness as His Weapon to Rape Black Women|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/goldie-taylorcop-used-whiteness-as-his-weapon-to-rape-black-women|access-date=July 21, 2017|work=Daily Beast|date=June 26, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Schmitz|first1=Melanie|title=Daniel Holtzclaw Used Race To Bully His Victims into Submission & His Victims Know Exactly Why|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/129452-daniel-holtzclaw-used-race-to-bully-his-victims-into-submission-his-victims-know-exactly-why|access-date=May 21, 2016|website=Bustle.com|date=December 11, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/10/us/oklahoma-daniel-holtzclaw-trial/|title=Former Oklahoma City officer Daniel Holtzclaw found guilty of rape|first=Michael |last=Martinez|website=CNN|access-date=December 11, 2015|date=December 10, 2015}} His father is a lieutenant with the police department in Enid, Oklahoma.{{cite news|last1=Iwasinski|first1=Adrianna|title=Bond Reduced For OKC Officer Accused of Sexual Assaults|url=http://www.news9.com/story/26439441/okc-officer-accused-of-sexual-assaults-arraigned-on-wednesday|access-date=May 21, 2016|work=news9.com|date=September 3, 2014}} Holtzclaw graduated from Enid High School in 2005. While there, he played football as a linebacker, setting a school record for 25 tackles in a game.{{cite news|last1=Ruthenberg|first1=Dave|title=Ex-EHS gridiron standout goes from pursuing running backs to pursuing felons|url=http://www.enidnews.com/sports/local_sports/ex-ehs-gridiron-standout-goes-from-pursuing-running-backs-to/article_4a8980b9-3ff7-5cce-8bf2-b46a6b2f5657.html|access-date=December 11, 2015|work=Enid News and Eagle|date=March 23, 2013}} He played linebacker at Eastern Michigan University, where he graduated with a degree in criminal justice in 2010.{{Cite web|url=https://www.swtimes.com/article/20130331/NEWS/303319932|title=Enid Football Standout Now Chasing Felons As OKC Police Officer|website=Times Record}}{{Cite web|url=https://emueagles.com/sports/football/roster/daniel-holtzclaw/1452|title=Daniel Holtzclaw – Football|website=Eastern Michigan University Athletics}} After graduating, Holtzclaw unsuccessfully attempted to get drafted into the NFL.{{cite web|title=2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile |url=http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=56564&draftyear=2009&genpos=ILB|website=nfldraftscout.com|publisher=The Sports Xchange|access-date=May 21, 2016}} Following that, he joined the Oklahoma City Police Department.{{cite news|last1=Testa|first1=Jessica|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/daniel-holtzclaw-alleged-sexual-assault-oklahoma-city|title=How Police Caught The Cop Who Allegedly Sexually Abused Black Women|publisher=BuzzFeed News|date=November 2, 2015|access-date=November 16, 2015}}

Criminal charges and conviction

=Charges=

Holtzclaw was accused of sexually assaulting multiple African American women over the period between December 2013 and June 2014, targeting those from a poorer, majority black portion of the city. According to police investigators, Holtzclaw ran background checks on women with outstanding warrants or other criminal records, and methodically targeted those victims.

The offense that led to Holtzclaw's arrest happened around 2:00 a.m. on June 18, 2014, after Holtzclaw had already completed his shift on the northeast side of Oklahoma City and was driving to his residence in his assigned police vehicle.{{cite web |url=http://kfor.com/2016/02/04/watch-police-interrogation-of-daniel-holtzclaw/| title=Graphic: Interrogation of former Oklahoma City officer following first accusation of sex crimes | agency=Associated Press | date=November 1, 2015 | access-date=February 6, 2016 }} During that time, police said, Holtzclaw made a traffic stop without reporting to police dispatch, running a records check on the driver, or revealing that he logged off of his patrol car computer. The driver was Jannie Ligons, a 57-year-old woman who was passing through the impoverished area that police said Holtzclaw was targeting. Unlike other women that police said he had accosted, she was not poor and had no police record. Ligons said that before forcing her to perform oral sex on him, Holtzclaw made her lift her shirt and pull down her pants. She testified that she had begged him to stop and was afraid for her life. Ligons promptly filed a police report.

When Holtzclaw reported to the OKCPD Springlake Division station the following afternoon for his daily 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift, he was pulled aside and driven to the department's Sex Crimes Unit by detectives Kim Davis and Rocky Gregory for questioning. After being Mirandized, Holtzclaw underwent a two-hour interrogation during which he denied all accusations of misconduct during the Ligons stop earlier that morning, and buccal swabs were taken for DNA comparison. At the conclusion of the interrogation, the two detectives told Holtzclaw that they believed that he was being untruthful based both on previous evidence and on statements made by his 25-year-old cohabiting girlfriend, that countered claims Holtzclaw had made to the detectives. While he was released after the interrogation, Holtzclaw's commission and entry cards, uniform shirt and pants, badges, firearms (handgun and shotgun), radio, and keys to his assigned police vehicle were seized, and he was placed on indefinite paid administrative leave. After further investigation eventually turned up a dozen additional complainants, Holtzclaw was arrested two months later on August 21, 2014, and originally charged with 16 (and eventually 36) counts of sexual abuse offenses including rape in the first and second degrees, sexual battery, procuring lewd exhibition, stalking, and forcible oral sodomy.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAS02xk_eXY|title=Daniel Holtzclaw interrogation video (unredacted). Former OKC police officer|last=videovigilanteokc|date=February 6, 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cite news |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fd1d4d05e561462a85abe50e7eaed4ec/ap-hundreds-officers-lose-licenses-over-sex-misconduct |title=AP: Hundreds of officers lose licenses over sex misconduct |work=The Big Story |access-date=December 11, 2015 |archive-date=December 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218035220/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fd1d4d05e561462a85abe50e7eaed4ec/ap-hundreds-officers-lose-licenses-over-sex-misconduct |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/11/daniel-holtzclaws-mistake-assaulting-the-grandmother-who-finally-reported-him/|title=A serial rapist cop's 'mistake': Assaulting the grandmother who finally reported him|author=Sarah Kaplan|date=December 11, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=December 11, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.koco.com/news/woman-testifies-after-showing-up-high-to-daniel-holtzclaw-trial-high/36441220|title=Woman testifies after showing up high to Daniel Holtzclaw trial high|author=Patty Santos|date=November 13, 2015|publisher=KOCO|access-date=December 11, 2015}}

While reviewing Ligons' case, the two sex-crimes detectives remembered a previous report of forced oral sex committed by a police officer. Looking back through police records, the detectives found the report of a woman who said she was stopped in May 2014 and driven to an isolated area by an officer who forced her to perform oral sex. No action had been taken at the time of her report, but when the detectives contacted the woman, she showed them the route that the officer had taken on the night of the attack, and it matched Holtzclaw's GPS route that evening. The detectives then reviewed Holtzclaw's automatically recorded history of running names through the department's two databases, looking specifically for people who had been checked out multiple times, and they contacted those women. In the initial investigation, six women were willing to come forward to testify, and the GPS device on Holtzclaw's patrol car put him at the scene of the alleged incidents. Police records showed that he had called in for a warrant check on all of them. Their investigation covered a six-month period, beginning with the first woman who was willing to come forward, a woman whom Holtzclaw arrested for drug possession in December 2013 and then forced oral sodomy from while she was handcuffed to a hospital bed.

=Accusations of sexual assault and rape=

Eventually, the prosecution investigation brought together 13 women who were willing to testify; published reports did not include information on any possible further women who were not willing to testify. The earliest incident discovered was from December 20, 2013, where a woman said she had been arrested for drug possession, was hospitalized, and was forced to give oral sex while she was handcuffed to her hospital bed. She said that he again made sexual advances to her on several occasions after she was released from jail. The woman said that she was led to believe that she would be released if she performed oral sex on Holtzclaw. "I didn't think that no one would believe me," she testified at a pretrial hearing. "I feel like all police will work together."{{cite web | url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fd1d4d05e561462a85abe50e7eaed4ec/ap-hundreds-officers-lose-licenses-over-sex-misconduct | title=AP: Hundreds of officers lose licenses over sex misconduct | agency=Associated Press | date=November 1, 2015 | access-date=December 18, 2015 | author1=Sedensky, Matt | author2=Merchant, Nomann | archive-date=December 18, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218035220/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fd1d4d05e561462a85abe50e7eaed4ec/ap-hundreds-officers-lose-licenses-over-sex-misconduct | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url=http://www.glamour.com/inspired/blogs/the-conversation/2015/12/daniel-holtzclaw-trial | title=The Trial of Daniel Holtzclaw, the Cop Charged With Sexually Assaulting 13 Black Women | publisher=GLAMOUR News | date=December 9, 2015 | access-date=January 3, 2016 | author=De Leon, Conception}}

=Jury selection=

The final jury was an all-white jury which consisted of eight men and four women.{{cite news|last1=Dart|first1=Tom|title=Critics cite all-white jury for trial of ex-officer accused of raping black women|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/07/oklahoma-daniel-holtzclaw-all-white-jury-trial|access-date=May 21, 2016|agency=Associated Press|work=The Guardian|date=November 7, 2015}} Three black men were selected to the first pool of 24 potential jurors but were eventually rejected.{{cite news|last1=Santos|first1=Patty|title=Oklahoma City NAACP concerned about jury selection in Daniel Holtzclaw trial|url=http://www.koco.com/news/oklahoma-city-naacp-concerned-about-jury-selection-in-daniel-holtzclaw-trial/36265866|access-date=May 21, 2016|work=KOCO 5 News|publisher=KOCO-TV|date=November 4, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=King|first1=Shaun|title=KING: Cop accused of raping black women gets all white jury|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-accused-raping-black-women-white-jury-article-1.2423160|access-date=May 21, 2016|work=Daily News|location=New York |date=November 5, 2015}} The president of the Oklahoma City chapter of the NAACP expressed disappointment in the lack of minority jurors.

=Trial=

Holtzclaw, who had been on paid administrative leave until he was charged in August 2014,{{cite web | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/okla-charged-sexually-assaulting-women-free-bond-article-1.1930004 | title=Oklahoma City cop charged with sexually assaulting eight women is released on bond | work=Daily News | date=September 5, 2014 | access-date=December 19, 2015 | author=Golgowski, Nina}} was fired in January 2015 and his trial began on November 2, 2015.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34791191|title=Daniel Holtzclaw trial: Standing with 'imperfect' accusers|publisher=BBC News|date=November 13, 2015|access-date=November 16, 2015}} He faced 36 charges, including sexual battery, assault, forcible oral sodomy, and stalking, and pleaded not guilty to all charges.{{cite news|title=DA files 16 felony counts against Holtzclaw|url=http://www.enidnews.com/news/da-files-felony-counts-against-holtzclaw/article_b306d360-2fca-11e4-bfcc-0019bb2963f4.html|access-date=December 12, 2015|work=Enid News & Eagle|date=August 29, 2014}}{{cite news|title=Former OKC Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw Found Guilty of Rape|url=http://www.e93fm.com/news/former-okc-police-officer-daniel-holtzclaw-found-guilty-of-rape/|access-date=December 12, 2015|agency=Associated Press|publisher=WEAS-FM|date=December 11, 2015}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In court, prosecutors produced DNA evidence that was found on a triangle-shaped spot on the inside of Holtzclaw's uniform trousers, close to the zipper. After the hearing, his family made a statement that "The facts are that there is no DNA linking him to any of these women as far as was presented in the hearing." According to The New York Times, the DNA was a match to one of the victims, then aged 17.{{cite web|url=http://www.koco.com/news/9-women-testify-ocpd-officer-sexually-assaulted-them-more-set-to-take-stand/29786906|title=9 women testify OCPD officer sexually assaulted them; More set to take stand|first1=Kim|last1=Passoth|date=November 17, 2014|publisher=KOCO|access-date=December 11, 2015}}{{Cite news|title = Former Oklahoma City Police Officer Found Guilty of Rapes|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/us/former-oklahoma-city-police-officer-found-guilty-of-rapes.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date =December 10, 2015|access-date = December 11, 2015|issn = 0362-4331|first = Dave|last = Philipps}}{{cite web|url=http://kfor.com/2015/11/13/state-witness-tests-positive-for-pcp-hours-before-taking-stand/|title=State witness tests positive for PCP hours before taking stand|date=November 13, 2015|publisher=KFOR-TV|access-date=December 11, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Testa|first1=Jessica|title=The 13 Women Who Accused A Cop of Sexual Assault, In Their Own Words|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/daniel-holtzclaw-women-in-their-ow#.kv7Rx64X0O|access-date=December 13, 2015|work=BuzzFeed|date=December 9, 2015}} The DNA that was found was skin DNA; Holtzclaw's DNA was not found in the same area of clothing where the 17-year-old accuser's skin DNA was found. Holtzclaw's defense attorney explained the presence of the skin cells as "secondary transfer" whereby Holtzclaw's hands had possibly come into contact with the woman's skin cells when he searched her purse and later transferred them to the zipper area of his pants.{{cite news|title=Closing arguments to begin for former Oklahoma City police officer accused of rape, sexual assault|url=http://newsok.com/article/5464302|access-date=January 2, 2016|work=NewsOK|date=December 2, 2015}}{{Failed verification|date=October 2021}}{{cite news|title=Jury deliberating in trial of former Oklahoma City police officer|url=http://kfor.com/2015/12/02/state-defense-attorneys-rest-their-cases-in-trial-of-former-oklahoma-city-police-officer/|access-date=January 2, 2016|publisher=KFOR|date=December 2, 2015}} During the trial, Holtzclaw did not contest having encountered the women, but he maintained his innocence. The defense concentrated on the accusers' lifestyles, calling just one witness, a former girlfriend of Holtzclaw's, who testified that he never exhibited sexually aggressive or inappropriate behavior around her.

On December 10, 2015, he was convicted on 18 of the charges, with the jury recommending that he serve 263 years in prison. Charges included first-degree rape, sexual battery, indecent exposure, stalking, forcible oral sodomy and burglary. He also faced second-degree rape by instrumentation and sexual battery charges. Claiming that evidence was withheld from the defense, Holtzclaw's attorney requested a new trial on January 20, 2016. The request was immediately denied by the judge.

A statement released by Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty reads, in part: "We are satisfied with the jury's decision and firmly believe justice was served."{{Cite web|title = Ex-cop guilty on 18 counts in Oklahoma City rape trial|url = http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/1172248/ex-cop-guilty-18-counts-sex-assaults-trial-oklahoma|website = Chicago Sun-Times|access-date = December 11, 2015|date = December 10, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151215083232/http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/1172248/ex-cop-guilty-18-counts-sex-assaults-trial-oklahoma|archive-date = December 15, 2015|url-status = dead}}

Soon after his sentencing, all of Holtzclaw's information was removed from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) website. The website shows data on a criminal's offense(s), mug shots, and jail location. When asked where Holtzclaw is currently located, ODOC spokesperson Terri Watkins replied, "We are not going to comment, it is a matter of security."{{cite news|last1=Musgrove|first1=Chuck|title=Former Oklahoma City police officer convicted of sex crimes disappears from prison database|url=http://kfor.com/2016/01/29/former-oklahoma-city-police-officer-convicted-of-sex-crimes-disappears-from-prison-database/|access-date=May 21, 2016|publisher=KFOR-TV|date=January 29, 2016}} It was later confirmed that he was being held under an alias in an undisclosed Oklahoma state prison.{{cite news|url=http://kfor.com/2016/05/20/daniel-holtzclaw-in-his-own-words/|title="I will not feel remorse for something I didn't do," Former OKC police officer Daniel Holtzclaw talks about rape conviction|last=Meyer|first=Ali|publisher=KFOR-TV|date=May 20, 2016}}

In a 2016 interview Holtzclaw reasserted his innocence.

Appeal process

In a unanimous opinion on August 1, 2019, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied Holtzclaw's appeal. The ruling, written by Judge Dana Kuehn, rejected the appellant attorneys' claims of insufficient evidence and of improper procedure for bundling all 36 charges together. The opinion rejected allegations of a "circus atmosphere," noting that the jury returned not guilty verdicts on half of the charges. In his concurrence, Presiding Judge David B. Lewis referred to Holtzclaw as a "sexual predator." In their public condemnation of the ruling, Holtzclaw's family and supporters called Lewis' description a "vicious and false assertion."{{Cite web|url=https://oklahoman.com/article/5637620/oklahoma-court-issues-opinion-on-holtzclaw-appeal/|title=Oklahoma court denies appeal of ex-police officer|date=August 2, 2019|website=Oklahoman.com}}

On March 9, 2020, Holtzclaw's petition for a writ of certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court of the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/19-843.html|title=Search – Supreme Court of the United States|website=supremecourt.gov}}

Media coverage

According to The Atlantic, mainstream media gave Holtzclaw's trial for serial sexual attacks and rapes "relatively little" attention, although Black Lives Matter activists raised the matter in social media and helped bring attention to the ongoing judicial process.{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/daniel-holtzclaw-trial-guilty/420009/|title=A Guilty Verdict for Daniel Holtzclaw|first=Ken|last=Ford|date=December 11, 2015|access-date=December 21, 2015|work=The Atlantic}} The Guardian reported that local activists were surprised that advocates from national women's groups, who had attended rape trials in the past, were absent from the courtroom at the start of the trial. Racial justice activists who had been very vocal about recent police-involved shootings were also accused of being largely absent from involvement in the Holtzclaw case.

In the absence of national attention, two Oklahoma City women, Grace Franklin and Candace Liger, formed the group OKC Artists for Justice to bring attention to the case. They said that they began to organize when Holtzclaw's bail was reduced from $5 million to $500,000 because it was so "insulting and infuriating", that they "wanted to stand up and say 'No. This is not OK. You cannot let a man who attacked and raped 13 women, per the charges, go home and have Christmas dinner with his family while those women are still in fear.{{'"}}{{cite web | url=http://newsok.com/article/5464300 | title=OKC Artists for Justice founders see activism as extension of creativity | publisher=News OK | date=December 2, 2015 | access-date=January 6, 2016 | author=Dallas, Ebony}} Franklin said that they reached out to many national groups but received little response. She said, "It kind of fuels the feeling of separation between black feminists and so-called white feminists. Why aren't there more women out here of all shades, of all backgrounds for these women? Why are we doing this alone?"

An article in Cosmopolitan said that the media consistently ignores the violence perpetrated against black women and girls as compared to the coverage given to white women and girls. The article concluded:

Mainstream media failed these women. The lack of coverage thwarted a national conversation about sexual violence as a distinct form of police brutality. The stories of these women need to serve as an important intervention in conversations about anti-black state violence, rape culture, and the vulnerability of sex workers, ex-offenders, and current and recovering drug addicts to state and state-sanctioned violence. This verdict and Holtzclaw's forthcoming sentencing are entry points for a more thoughtful, humane, and transformative national dialogue about police brutality and sexual violence. With or without mainstream media coverage, we need to continue talking about this trial and everything it represents.{{cite web | url=http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a50842/the-medias-disgraceful-silence-on-daniel-holtzclaw/ | title=The Media's Disgraceful Silence on Daniel Holtzclaw | work=Cosmopolitan | date=December 15, 2015 | access-date=December 18, 2015 | author=Lindsey, Treva}}

File:Michelle Malkin 12-13-16 IMG 5764 (31606416886).jpg

Holtzclaw's case was part of an Associated Press report in a yearlong examination of sexual assaults by police. The report found that approximately 1,000 police officers lost their licenses for sex crimes during a six-year period. Reporting in the case indicates that this may be an undercount due to inconsistencies in how different jurisdictions deal with and report problem officers.{{cite news | url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oklahoma-officer-sentenced-rape-sex-crimes-36414725 | title=Ex-Oklahoma Officer Gets 263 Years for Rapes, Sex Assaults |publisher= ABC News|location=United States | author=Sean Murphy | date=January 21, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202091643/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oklahoma-officer-sentenced-rape-sex-crimes-36414725 | access-date=October 21, 2021| archive-date=February 2, 2016 }}

In February 2016, website SB Nation published a lengthy profile of Holtzclaw that focused on his college football career. The piece was immediately criticized as being apologetic and sympathetic to Holtzclaw; it was pulled within hours of publication. SB Nation subsequently suspended and later permanently shut down its long-form journalism program and cut ties with the freelance author responsible.{{cite news|last1=Bonesteel|first1=Matt|title=SB Nation is right: Its story about a convicted rapist was a 'complete failure'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/02/18/sb-nation-is-right-its-story-about-a-convicted-rapist-was-a-complete-failure/|access-date=February 19, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 18, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Victor|first1=Daniel|title=SB Nation Removes Article Criticized as Sympathetic to Convicted Rapist|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/business/media/sb-nation-daniel-holtzclaw.html|access-date=February 19, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=February 18, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Mitchell|first1=Benjamin F.|title=SB Nation publishes, takes down "failure" of story about Holtzclaw|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/02/18/sb-nation-publishes-takes-down-failure-story-holtzclaw/80553936/|access-date=February 19, 2016|work=USA Today|date=February 18, 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://deadspin.com/sb-nation-memo-announces-hiatus-for-longform-program-1760143895|title=SB Nation Memo Announces Hiatus For Longform Program|last=Howard|first=Greg|publisher=Deadspin|date=February 19, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/2016/5/26/11790170/a-note-from-sb-nation-leadership|title=A note from SB Nation leadership|publisher=SB Nation|date=May 26, 2016}}

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin has written that she believes Holtzclaw is innocent.{{cite news |last1=Malkin |first1=Michelle |authorlink1=Michelle Malkin |title=Exclusive: What If the Convicted "Serial Rapist Cop" Is Innocent? |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/12/01/exclusive_what_if_the_convicted_serial_rapist_cop_is_innocent_132483.html |access-date=December 17, 2023 |work=RealClearPolitics |date=December 1, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Meyer|first1=Ali|title=EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Holtzclaw's family speaks out about conviction, appeal one year later|url=http://kfor.com/2016/12/13/exclusive-holtzclaw-family-talks-about-officer-verdict-one-year-ago/|access-date=December 16, 2016|publisher=KFOR|date=December 13, 2016}} Malkin screened two videos about the case at Stride Bank Center in Enid in 2016, and then a longer film at the same venue in 2018.{{cite web|title=Screening of show on convicted OKC officer held in Enid|url=http://www.enidnews.com/news/local_news/screening-of-show-on-convicted-okc-officer-held-in-enid/article_95e0b156-cd6d-5e8c-935d-cf7106cdc7f7.html|website=enidnews.com|date=December 11, 2016 |publisher=Enid News and Eagle Funk|access-date=December 11, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.enidnews.com/news/local_news/documentary-about-daniel-holtzclaw-wins-honors/article_c7aadda6-5a47-56ee-a582-2cbc988ca5d5.html|title=Documentary about Daniel Holtzclaw wins honors|author=Cass Rains|work=Enid News&eagle|date=May 7, 2018}}

In 2017, KOKH-TV reported that the District Attorney and a Deputy Police Chief were aware that a DNA lab expert who testified against Holtzclaw made mistakes and that an unknown male DNA profile was among samples tested but not mentioned during the trial.{{Cite web |last=Cross |first=Phil |date=2017-07-28 |title=Emails show DNA lab concerns related to Holtzclaw case |url=https://ktul.com/emails-show-dna-lab-concerns-related-to-holtzclaw-case |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=KTUL}}

Jason Flom, a founding board member of the Innocence Project, dedicated a 2019 episode of his Wrongful Conviction podcast to interviews with Holtzclaw, his sister and a biologist who claims to have detected errors with the prosecution of the case.{{Cite web|last=Eagle|first=Enid News &|title='Wrongful Conviction' podcast highlights the Holtzclaw case|url=https://www.enidnews.com/oklahoma/news/wrongful-conviction-podcast-highlights-the-holtzclaw-case/article_61ebc6d3-94ac-5308-8443-9d94c04a2446.html|access-date=December 4, 2020|website=Enidnews.com|date=December 4, 2019}}