Last year, two men alleged that they were illegally stopped and strip searched in public by officers of the Atlanta Police Department. The men filed suit against the City of Atlanta claiming that their civil rights were violated during the June encounter. Just over a year later, the men have reached a settlement agreement with the city for $200,000.
Sean Venegas and Brian Kidd were driving in the early evening in Southwest Atlanta, bringing pizza to the apartment of Kidd’s girlfriend, when three officers from the APD’s paramilitary-style Red Dog Unit encountered them and began to follow them. The officers followed the two men and eventually pulled them over. Later, the officers would cite Venegas for running a stop sign, but there was no stop sign at the intersection.
After pulling the men over, officers ordered Venegas and Kidd out of the car without explaining why they had stopped them. The officers searched the car without explanation and slammed the men against the car. On officer strip searched Venegas on the side of the street while it was still light out. He removed Venegas’ pants and underwear, groped his genitals, and performed a cavity search on him while forcing him to spread his buttocks. Another officer reached into Kidd’s pants and groped his genitals. No drugs or contraband were ever found.
The APD’s infamous Red Dog Unit has now been disbanded under public pressure following a string of claims of officer brutality and lawlessness. This summer the city settled a case brought by a group of men for civil rights violations for over $1 million. Red Dog Unit officer—two of whom were involved in the stop of Venegas and Kidd—illegally detained and assaulted patrons of the Eagle, an Atlanta gay bar, insulting the men with gay slurs, forcing some to lay on the floor in broken glass, and destroying evidence by erasing the contents of cell phones.
Lawsuits are an effective tool not only for getting compensation for illegal arrests and police brutality, but also for forcing cities and states to respect the civil rights of their residents. Police brutality is shocking and gives rise to public outrage when it is made public. And while it is generally difficult to prove police misconduct, in those cases where sufficient evidence exists, juries often award significant damages.
