A Baton Rouge couple is suing the city’s Police Department, police chief and multiple police officers in federal court, alleging that they suffered pain and humiliation from strip searches after their home was subjected to a drug raid last year.
Alex Woods and Rose Carter are the plaintiffs in an Aug. 8 lawsuit filed in the Middle District of Louisiana. The couple alleges that the Police Department suspected them of illegal drug activity with no factual basis and that the raid on their home was a mistake.
“The Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) maintains a policy of strip-searching individuals taken into their custody, without probable cause and without individualized reasonable suspicion that the individuals are secreting weapons or drugs,” the lawsuit states. “Strip searches are a uniquely invasive tactic, and it is used by Baton Rouge officers to humiliate, denigrate and intimidate individuals.”
The complaint alleges that Wood and Carter were strip-searched at a now-shuttered facility called the “Brave Cave,” a warehouse that served as a base of operations for the BRPD’s Street Crimes Unit.
“The officers came into their home, shot and killed their caged dog and took Mr. Woods and Ms. Carter into custody,” the lawsuit says. “During the course of the invasive and unjustified search, the officers realized they were at the wrong residence and had no basis to compel Mr. Woods and Ms. Carter to follow their directives.”
The BRPD did not respond to a request for comment, but the department has not acknowledged any mistake was made. According to media reports, Woods is facing gun and drug charges, but Carter was not charged and eventually released.
“The officers intentionally turned off their body-worn cameras at ‘the BRAVE Cave,’ even though their investigation into Mr. Woods and Ms. Carter was ongoing,” the complaint says. “The officers subjected Mr. Woods and Mr. Carter to strip and body cavity searches, meaning they were viewed naked superficially and internally in the most invasive and humiliating manner possible.”
The department’s formal policy is that strip searches can take place once “reasonable suspicion” is established by the nature of the offense, the suspect’s conduct and appearance, the circumstances of the arrest and the suspect’s prior criminal record, according to the lawsuit. This policy flies in the face of the Fourth Amendment, the plaintiffs allege.
Other litigation and a federal investigation has resulted from other incidents at the Brave Cave. The Street Crimes Unit has strip-searched about 1,000 people since January of last year, according to the complaint. Hundreds of these searches were based only on a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, the lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs accuse the BRPD of violations of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and negligence.
One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Ronald Haley, did not respond to a request for comment, but Haley’s law firm’s website is seeking others who believe they were victimized by unlawful Police Department tactics involving the Brave Cave or the Street Crimes Unit. These potential parties are being sought for a class action to hold officers accountable for any misdeeds that may have occurred.