Pubdate: Sun, 09 Feb 2003
Source: Courier-Journal, The (KY)
Copyright: 2003 The Courier-Journal
Contact:  http://www.courier-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97
Author: Shannon Tan, The Indianapolis Star

MAN FILES LAWSUIT, SAYS PUBLIC STRIP-SEARCH VIOLATED RIGHTS

Indianapolis Police Looked For Drugs Following Arrest

INDIANAPOLIS -- James S. Campbell says Indianapolis police officers told 
him he fit the profile of a drug dealer, so they strip-searched him -- in 
public.

Campbell brought a federal lawsuit against the Indianapolis Police 
Department on Friday, alleging his constitutional rights were violated 
during the June incident. He is seeking damages and wants a judge to bar 
police from conducting stripand body-cavity searches in public.

Campbell's attorney, Michael Sutherlin, said he believes at least 100 
others have been subjected to such public searches in Central Indiana.

Lt. Paul Ciesielski, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Police Department, 
said police don't have a policy on conducting thorough searches in public, 
and the decision is made on a case-by-case basis.

"We have no reason to believe or have any evidence to suggest this is a 
departmentwide problem or even an issue," he said. "I think the issue here 
is not so much did the officers act inappropriately, but can they conduct 
that search."

The lawsuit outlines these events on June 14:

Campbell, 31, a resident of the city's east side and supervisor of bus 
transportation for Perry Township Schools, was visiting a friend when 
police stopped him.

Officer Frank Miller and others were looking for a suspected drug dealer. 
Campbell was getting out of his car when Miller ordered him to the ground 
at gunpoint. Miller handcuffed Campbell before eight other officers arrived.

An unidentified officer picked up a bag of marijuana, claiming it belonged 
to Campbell. Miller told Campbell he was under arrest for possession and 
had to submit to a search.

Campbell protested and asked for a supervisor, but his request was denied. 
Campbell was taken behind the house, where Miller pulled down his pants and 
searched him for drugs but found none.

Campbell was issued a summons and released. No drug charges were filed 
against him, although it was not his first encounter with the police.

In 1990, Campbell was arrested on charges of auto theft, resisting law 
enforcement and reckless driving, according to court records. Those charges 
were later dismissed.

After the June incident, Campbell filed a complaint with the citizens 
complaint board, but an internal investigation found no wrongdoing.

"It is the most degrading and humiliating experience I've been through," 
said Campbell, who said that children and strangers could see him being 
searched.

But Ciesielski said that "in no way did anyone else see what was happening."

Sutherlin said such public searches are widely practiced. He cited a 2001 
Marion Superior Court bench trial, at which Officer Andre Bell testified 
that he subjected a defendant, Michael Dudley, to a body-cavity search even 
though other officers had patted him down.

"This case shocks my conscience," said commissioner Israel Nunez Cruz on 
June 7, 2001, before finding Dudley not guilty of disorderly conduct and 
resisting law enforcement. "This man was grabbed against his will and taken 
to some location still in public."

Others named in Campbell's federal lawsuit include officers Scott Wolfe, 
Kevin Duley, Michael Darst, Michael Schollmeier, Charles Lewis, Michael 
Watkins, Jeffery Augustinovicz and Michael Phillips.
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