HAMPTON -- A Hampton couple is suing the city and its police department for $8.75 million, saying their rights were violated in a traffic stop last year when police searched the woman's undergarments and ordered the man to take off his shoes and spread his legs.
According to the lawsuit, when the woman asked why they were being searched, a female officer replied: "Because I can."
The suit, being handled in federal court in Newport News by former Circuit Judge Verbena M. Askew, contends there was no basis for the search.
"This brutal attack . . . was the culmination of the police officers' long-standing assault on the constitutional rights of the citizens of Hampton," the suit says. The suit asserts that Police Chief Charles R. Jordan Jr. and other police policymakers knew of such searches being conducted, but their response "was so inadequate that it was allowed to continue."
The suit is brought by Amy Williamson, 30, and Mark Kendall, 28.
The suit names as defendants the city of Hampton, Jordan and officers Scott A. Quesenberry and Kathleen M. Moffat.
Hampton police spokeswoman Cpl. Paula Ensley said the police department's policy is not to talk about pending litigation. Jordan also declined comment. Hampton Deputy City Attorney Jeffry A. Sachs said, "Our policy is to respond in court, not in the press."
The incident occurred Dec. 21, 2008, with the lawsuit including the following description of events:
Before 9 p.m., Kendall was driving in Phoebus, in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV, with Williamson as his passenger. They stopped at a home to drop off money to one of Kendall's carpet installation co-workers. The money, Askew said, was a payment for carpet installation work.
Kendall was about to turn onto Fulton Street when he was pulled over. Williamson and Kendall were told to put their hands on the dashboard, and Moffat brought a K-9 dog to the Escalade, with the dog "jumping on the vehicle several times." The scratches caused $4,000 in damage to the SUV, the suit says.
Williamson and Kendall were ordered out of the SUV and handcuffed while the vehicle was searched. Finding nothing, the officers searched Kendall and Williamson. "Officer [Moffat] searched Ms. Williamson in her bra, under her bra and put her hands in her pants," the suit says.
Meanwhile, Quesenberry made Kendall take off his shoes and socks and spread his legs while standing up.
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