A federal judge has sided with the City of Atlanta in a case where a city worker claims he was illegally strip searched outside the West End Mall in 2010.
In an order, U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash says Ricky Sampson failed to show the city of Atlanta had a custom or policy directing officers to perform illegal strip searches.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner says the decision proves the department does not condone unconstitutional strip searches.
“Clearly the city of Atlanta does not have any policies of strip searching or violating of individual rights. We have a clear policy on when our officers can and should search an individual and where they should. Quite frankly, I believe the judge made the right decision, and the decision is in our support.”
However, Sampson claims one of the members of the department’s now disbanded Red Dog unit grabbed him, pulled down his pants and searched around his genitals and buttocks area.
He says several other officers held his arms during the search and another watched without intervening. But despite the order, Sampson’s attorney Mark Bullman says the matter is far from over.
“The worst part about this is we’re still fighting over the fact that it is still illegal to strip search people in public for which there is absolutely no evidence they’ve done anything wrong.”
Bullman says unless it’s settled out of court, the case will proceed to a jury trial against those former and current officers accused of illegally strip searching Sampson.
He says since the end of 2011, the department has spent a total of $765,000 dollars in settlements with 8 of his other clients who claim they were illegally searched. A spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department says the city has spent around $2 million in the last five years settling cases involving civil rights violations, including improper strip searches.
Chief Turner tells WABE, the department has taken steps in the past three years to deal with any officers who have violated its strip search and body cavity search policies. He says the department has provided training to ensure its officers are clear on the constitution and when they are allowed to stop, search and frisk individuals.
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