There is a shocking lawsuit filed against the Citrus County Sheriff’s Department in Florida in which Leila Tarantino claims that she was pulled over for going through a stop sign and then stripped searched by the side of the road in front of her children.
Tarantino says that she was pulled over last July for allegedly rolling through a stop sign. She claims the officer immediately pulled his weapon and pulled her from the car without explanation or warning. She says that she was left in the back of his squad car for two hours and then strip searched by the side of the road in full view of bystanders. She further claims that a female officer “forcibly removed” a tampon from her during the strip search. She claims that there were five male officers and one female officer.
The civil action suit is against the government of Citrus County, Florida, Sheriff Jeffrey Dawsey and six unnamed police officers.
This is one of those cases where only a fraction of the allegations would need to be proven to make for an outrageous case. A strip search by the side of the road is itself a gross violation of standard procedures. We have not however heard from the officers or the department. They may contest that this was an actual strip search and contest the specific graphic details of the complaint below.
The long period of detention and lack of charges however raise serious questions regarding the basis for holding Tarantino. She was released with only a citation.
Here is a copy of the lawsuit.
Source: RT
Kudos: Catherine Maloney
Correction: I meant “plaintiff, not “palintiff.” I just saw that photo of here wearing heels and a tight t-shirt and jeans.
If it had been a priest in his collar in the car, what then?
Or a white male?
Or the police commissioner?
Since when did social rank and race inhibit constitutional protections?
idealist707, Alleged strip search.
mespo, A very possible scenario. And cops take care of their own[which I’ve said in another thread]. But, w/ the advent of video cams in squad cars there is more documentation than is prior decades.
Being a formerly good Catholic boy I will say a perfect act of contrition for mentioning the plaintiff’s background. It was professional curiosity. But first, I need the folks who have already ruled in the palintiff’s favor to back off. Then my mea culpa.
Messpo,
Excuse my ignorance. Do all felony stops mean strip searchs in public, including body cavities?
nick:
My guess is this was a drug stop. They got a partial description of the vehicle hence the cops turn around. Tarantino’s vehicle matched so they did a felony stop complete with backup and strip search.
nick:
I appreciate your inquisitive mind and this looks like a “more than meets the eye” case. I’ll reserve judgment, but I agree with Gene that her parenting skills are not implicated at all.
Curious, Great question! I don’t know but discovery should hopefully explain as the case proceeds. It is curious. Almost certainly the original officer asked for backup; the big question being why? Six cops does seem like overkill. But again, people w/ open minds will wait for facts. Some of the folks here are ready to pay Ms. Tarantino today.
Nick
I’m working on keeping an open mind. Any idea why there were six officers on scene for a rolling through a stop sign violation?
puzzling, strip searching kids? it’s already happening. tsa leads the way. for more examples go to youtube and search on tsa strip search.
And now the *spin*-elli against pollyannacurmudgeon: “And if you consider 2 DUI’s “minor infractions” then I pray I don’t live near you. I grant you they’re not major, but I hope those here, who don’t have their own alcohol issues, would not be as cavalier as you.”
The fact that the cop haters here were ready to lynch them and still are assuming absolute guilt on their part is more than a bit distressing.
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I’m not a cop hater by a long shot. And I am not of the camp that believes that fear equates with respect…I consider respect to be much more weighty and courageous and I have a very healthy respect for Law…but having lived awhile in Florida I can say that this sort of thing happens because it happens over and over. And maybe it is just the terrain but my ‘respect’ has been diminished to say the least.
[remember Trayvon Marvtin….. ]
Woosty,
How so?
Wootsy’s, There’s a good chance the cops names will become public as this case proceeds. The plaintiff’s attorney may still be sorting through what cop allegedly did what and is awaiting discovery to be more specific. That’s the most likely scenario, but you can be Oliver Stone if you wish. It’s America.
no takers on my question??? Really, abuses would probably nosedive if the police names were made public along with the complainant….
What happens in Florida doesn’t stay in Florida I guess. While I don’t have any personal ill-feelings toward the police, I am increasingly dismayed by what is reported about their conduct. Please, Professor, do follow-up on this. Thanks!
pollyannacurmudgeon, There was a lynching party underway. I checked on Pacer to see if the defense even had enough time to respond, they have not. As previously stated, the complaint was filed a week ago. I was curious about the plaintiff. The fact that the cop haters here were ready to lynch them and still are assuming absolute guilt on their part is more than a bit distressing. I didn’t go into details about the plaintiff’s background, but simply left it up to others to research if they wanted. We have no facts on this alleged incident. I’ve worked way too many cases to assume ANYTHING. And if you consider 2 DUI’s “minor infractions” then I pray I don’t live near you. I grant you they’re not major, but I hope those here, who don’t have their own alcohol issues, would not be as cavalier as you.
Let me say for the 4th time, if this occurred, then I hope this woman gets all the $’s she deserves..every penny. What I sense in this case is a possible history. The plaintiff has had more than a few police contacts in Citrus County. Possibly one of these cops had a grudge against her from a prior contact. Whether all you cop haters realize it or not, that is sometimes the scenario in police abuse cases. That not only doesn’t make it right, it makes it worse in my opinion. A cop w/ a gun and a grudge is REALLY bad.
I apologize for not drinking the cop hater koolaid. I hated koolaid even as a child.
It will be interesting to see the officer’s incident reports. There have been instances in which the collusion was so obvious that conspiracy charges were brought against officers. In this case, I am also interested in seeing what emerges in discovery. Dash cam video with sound also should be interesting. Somebody bring the popcorn.
Most officers just want to do a good job and go home to their families at the end of their shift. Then we have incidents like this. Sometimes you have whole departments with a scofflaw mentality. As they say, a fish rots from the head down. I went to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Department web site to take a peek. Typical self-congratulatory puff pieces with nary a mention of this incident.
By 2014 the police will be strip searching the children as well.
“If the whole idea is to not approach this with bias/ emotion, what is the point, then, of bringing up her alleged past if not to engender bias/emotion against this lady?” – pollyannacurmudgeon