A Casper man who used to work as a bouncer at a local bar has sued three Casper police officers and the city for allegedly violating his constitutional law for not showing identification for no likely reason. This emerges from a complaint filed in the US District Court on Monday.
“This matter concerns a citizen’s right to respectfully refuse unlawful solicitation by law enforcement agencies without being detained, seized, arrested and searched,” said Kaleb Clark’s complaint filed by attorneys Ian Sandefer and Jamie Woolsey.
“Furthermore, in this case it is ensured that the skin color does not determine the extent of his freedom,” says the complaint.
Casper City attorney John Henley did not return calls asking for comments on the lawsuit.
The case began at 2:25 a.m. on July 7, 2018, when officers – Andrea Husted, Scott Jones, and a defendant known only as John Doe – walked to the front door of the Gaslight Social.
Clark, an African American, unlocked it and let them in.
Officers accused Clark of being Lucas Sanchez, a former bar employee who was absent that night and who appeared to have a Johnson County arrest warrant.
Husted asked Clark for identification to prove he wasn’t Sanchez.
Other employees told the officers that he was not Sanchez.
But the police arrested him and handcuffed him anyway, causing Clark to become angry and yell at the police. According to the complaint, this led to charges of “disturbing the peace”.
After being handcuffed, officers took out Clark’s wallet and discovered that he was not Lucas Sanchez.
Nevertheless, they took him to jail and booked him to disrupt the peace accusation, according to the complaint.
Clark’s lawyers noticed that Husted had previously called her sister, who worked at the bar, and asked if she knew Sanchez. The nurse said she did and added that he was no longer a regular employee except for special occasions and would not work that night.
Husted’s sister later called Husted and told her she was arresting the wrong person. The nurse left a voicemail saying, “This is not fair.” [Mr. Clark] is a good person. ‘”Andrea Husted did not respond according to the complaint.
In an affidavit, Husted wrote that she spoke to “Clark’s boss” – without naming him or her – saying that Clark was Sanchez and added false information according to the complaint. “This was all to cover up the unconstitutional request by the CPD for Mr. Clark to show them his ID and the unlawful arrest of Mr. Clark by the officers after asserting his right not to do so.”
Clark and his lawyers said this incident was not the first of its kind for the city and police.
“The Casper Police Department had a custom, policy, pattern, and practice of arresting citizens who refused to provide police officers with information the officers requested but were not allowed to collect,” the said Complaint.
A month and a half before Clark was arrested, Natrona District Court judge Daniel Forgey stated that a similar arrest was against federal law. The city negotiated a $ 149,000 settlement and agreed to provide additional training on this constitutional requirement.
“The town of Casper was clearly aware of its unconstitutional custom, policy, pattern and practice when its officials interacted with Mr. Clark,” the complaint read.
Clark’s lawsuit found four constitutional violations.
Three of these concern the fourth amendment: the prohibition of unlawful seizure, the prohibition of illegal search and one that will be directed to the city through the police department to cause or tolerate the unconstitutional acts.
The other listed violation of the Constitution falls under the fourteenth amendment’s non-discrimination clause, according to the complaint. “At the time of the alleged events, Mr. Clark had a clearly established constitutional right to be free from racial discrimination and equal protection by the law in prosecution by law enforcement officers. Mr. Clark’s race was a motivating factor in the decision to meet him. to arrest, seize and arrest … “
Clark wants a negotiation. He seeks compensation for emotional distress, economic loss, punitive damages, legal fees, and other costs.
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