Former Astronaut Leland Melvin Says a False Police Accusation Nearly Cost His Career

A traffic stop in the early ’80s almost changed the trajectory of astronaut Leland Melvin’s life

When Leland Melvin was in high school, he says he was in a car with his then-girlfriend when a police officer suddenly rolled up. The officer grabbed Melvin’s girlfriend out of the vehicle.

“He tries to convince her I was raping her because he wanted me to go to jail,” Melvin said in a recorded interview…