Causeless Florida Roadside Cavity Search Produces Tampon
and Lawsuit
3 August 2012. United
States District Court, Middle District of Florida, Ocala. The attached Case Number
5:12-cv-434-OC-99TJC-PRL complaint
(appended below) charges the Citrus County Sheriff and associates of stopping
and strip-searching Leila Tarantino, a female driver, on a public byway without
probable cause on 11 July 2011 in Beverly Hills, Florida. One officer stooped
so low as to pluck the soggy tampon right out of Leila’s unwilling vagina
while consummating a cavity search. Officers then cited Leila for violating
restrictions on her driver license.
Attorneys claimed the court
has jurisdiction under 28 USC 1391, 1331, and 1343, 42 USC 1983 and 1988, and
CUSA Amendments 4, 9, and 14. The lawsuit cites violations of Florida Statute
901.211 which imposes duties of reasonable privacy and authority upon officers,
duties they ignored.
901.211 Strip
searches of persons arrested; body cavity search.—
(1) As
used in this section, the term “strip search†means having an arrested
person remove or arrange some or all of his or her clothing so as to permit a
visual or manual inspection of the genitals; buttocks; anus; breasts, in the
case of a female; or undergarments of such person.
(2) No
person arrested for a traffic, regulatory, or misdemeanor offense, except in a
case which is violent in nature, which involves a weapon, or which involves a
controlled substance, shall be strip searched unless:
(a) There
is probable cause to believe that the individual is concealing a weapon, a
controlled substance, or stolen property; or
(b) A
judge at first appearance has found that the person arrested cannot be released
either on recognizance or bond and therefore shall be incarcerated in the county
jail.
(3) Each
strip search shall be performed by a person of the same gender as the arrested
person and on premises where the search cannot be observed by persons not
physically conducting or observing the search pursuant to this section. Any
observer shall be of the same gender as the arrested person.
(4) Any
body cavity search must be performed under sanitary conditions.
(5) No
law enforcement officer shall order a strip search within the agency or facility
without obtaining the written authorization of the supervising officer on
duty.
(6) Nothing
in this section shall be construed as limiting any statutory or common-law right
of any person for purposes of any civil action or injunctive relief.
The lawsuit attacks the
Sheriff and deputies as officials and individuals for their scurrilous pattern
of behavior that invades rights and for battering and humiliating Leila, and
inflicting severe emotional distress upon her. It seeks declaratory and
injunctive relief requiring a change to Sheriff policies and practices, and
compensatory, general, special, and exemplary damages, plus attorney fees and
costs and “other relief as the court finds just and proper.†Leila seeks a
jury trial.
Let us join in wishing
Leila’s attorneys Michael Suchrest and Matthew Birk (352-373-5922) the best of
success in prosecuting the egregious malfeasance by the Sheriff and deputies. I
wonder whether they investigated Florida Statue 760.51 as a tool for obtaining
relief and remedy.
760.51 Violations
of constitutional rights, civil action by the Attorney General; civil
penalty.—
(1) Whenever
any person, whether or not acting under color of law, interferes by threats,
intimidation, or coercion, or attempts to interfere by threats, intimidation, or
coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any other person of rights secured
by the State Constitution or laws of this state, the Attorney General may bring
a civil or administrative action for damages, and for injunctive or other
appropriate relief for violations of the rights secured. Any damages recovered
under this section shall accrue to the injured person. The civil action shall be
brought in the name of the state and may be brought on behalf of the injured
person. The Attorney General is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s
fees and costs if the Department of Legal Affairs prevails in an action brought
under this section.
(2) Any
person who interferes by threats, intimidation, or coercion, or attempts to
interfere by threats, intimidation, or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment
by any other person of rights secured by the State Constitution or laws of this
state is liable for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each violation.
This penalty may be recovered in any action brought under this section by the
Attorney General. A civil penalty so collected shall accrue to the state and
shall be deposited as received into the General Revenue Fund
unallocated.
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