Anne Arundel County Dismissed from Lawsuit Involving Police Office Accused of Misconduct
The Maryland Daily Record reports a federal judge has dismissed claims against Anne Arundel County and Anne Arundel County's current and former police chief in a lawsuit in federal court in Baltimore involving the claims of three women who complain that a former Anne Arundel County police officer instructed them to expose their breasts after traffic stops. The defendant former police officer is still in the case.
The police officer was fired which is a decent clue that the claims have a foundation. But I'm wondering exactly what the damages are in the lawsuit. Did any of these woman actually follow the instructions? Or where they just incredibly offended? Obviously, the women did the right thing in reporting the police officer and Anne Arundel County did the right thing in firing the police officer. Bad story with the best possible ending. I just don't see why there has to be a lawsuit tacked on to the end of the story unless there is something compelling that happened beyond some nutcase telling the plaintiff to take off her shirt and the plaintiff saying "no way."
Judge Benson Legg found no basis for claims against either the county, Police Chief James Teare or former chief Thomas Shanahan. The ruling does not apply to state litigation.
Former police officer Joseph Mosmiller remains the sole defendant in the federal case. He was convicted of misconduct and fired in 2007 after the allegations surfaced.
Comments
check your facts, one plaintiff did expose her breasts....... The case has merit......
Posted by: Terry | March 10, 2009 11:43 AM
I'm not sure exactly how I would check the facts on this. I'm not running down to look at the court file for the allegations plaintiffs made. But, look, I'm not so sure this changes my view of whether a lawsuit makes sense here. Should the police officer be fired? In a New York minute. But should a lawsuit be filed? Again, I say no. Reasonable minds can differ on this. I'm offering my view.
Posted by: Ron Miller | March 10, 2009 4:43 PM
It seems the police in AA county have been getting worse over the past few years. what ever happened to the police that let you on your way with a stern warning. i was an officer for 28 years and have never seen such arrogant behavior as i do with AA county. Something needs to be done about rookie and vet police officers who take their authority too far and nit pick to find a reason to arrest. come on cheif of police.. are you listening???
Posted by: james tattle | March 11, 2009 1:53 PM
Thanks for your comment, James. I really can't speak to the issue. But it would seem in this case the Anne Arundel County Police did the right thing: identify the bad police officer and fire him. But I don't know all the facts or whether it took them longer to come to this conclusion than they should have.
Posted by: Ron Miller | March 11, 2009 2:02 PM