Lawsuit says Lexington cops racially profiled, detained teen walking home from school
A lawsuit has been filed against Lexington and six city police officers on behalf of a Black teenage boy alleging that officers racially profiled and detained the 15-year-old, according to court records.
The teenager, who was only identified as “S.H.” in the lawsuit, was walking home from school in the Easthills Drive area on Jan. 16, 2020, when he was confronted by police officers without notice or warning. The officers put the 15-year-old on the ground, according to the lawsuit. After placing the teenager on the ground, police realized he hadn’t committed any offenses and escorted him home.
The lawsuit was filed last month by the teenager’s mother on his behalf. The teenager suffered “embarrassment and humiliation as well as mental anguish,” the mother’s attorney, Edward Dove, wrote in the lawsuit.
Dove also told the Herald-Leader that the 15-year-old was handcuffed during the altercation. He was a high school freshman at the time.
“He was pretty traumatized,” Dove told the Herald-Leader. “He’s still receiving some counseling sessions.”
Dove said it’s his understanding that police were investigating an auto theft when they confronted the teenager. “It wasn’t very long” into the altercation that police realized they detained the wrong person, Dove said.
The teenager experienced “excessive force and illegal search and seizure” which violated his Fourth Amendment rights, the lawsuit alleged. The lawsuit further alleged that the altercation happened “solely due to his race,” and stated that the 15-year-old didn’t pose any threat to the officers or the community.
Dove wrote in the lawsuit that the officers were acting unreasonably “in light of clearly established law” when they detained the 9th grader.
The lawsuit also accused the city of inadequately supervising and/or training officers. The alleged shortcomings in training and supervision “constituted deliberate indifference to and/or tacit authorization of the violation of African American citizens,” Dove wrote in court records.
The six officers named in the lawsuit include Robert Fraser, Elder Agayev, Rebecca Saylor, James Dellacamera, Jessica Entenmann and Hunter Wilkins.
The victim’s family is seeking damages due to the altercation. The family has also asked the court to find that the city has “adopted a policy of deliberate indifference” to the practice of racially profiling Lexington citizens.
Police: Encounter with teen was ‘in good faith’
The city and the six officers denied any wrongdoing in a joint reply filed into court on behalf of all defendants. The altercation they’re being sued over was “constitutional, lawful, and otherwise proper,” an attorney wrote in the reply.
“They acted in good faith, without any malice or ill-motives, and with no intent at any time to violate any” of the teenager’s rights, the city’s attorney, Joseph Todd Henning, wrote in court records.
The Fourth Amendment doesn’t require definitive proof or knowledge that someone is a threat to the community in order to comply with the amendment, the city and the officers stated in their reply.
The city and the officers have asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit and award them costs and attorney fees, according to court records.
City officials and the Lexington Police Department declined to make any additional comments.