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Baltimore Police Department (BPD) illegally searched three local residents who were shot and severely injured, and immediately “revictimized” by having their money, phones and jewelry taken by police, a class action lawsuit claims.
The proposed class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court District of Maryland on April 1, by plaintiffs Amber Spencer, Damon Gray and Faye Cottman. The lawsuit also names the current and former police commissioners, supervising officers, specific officers and detectives, and the mayor and City of Baltimore as defendants, alleging together the defendants violated Spencer, Gray and Cottman’s constitutional rights.
The BPD’s search and seizure and death and serious assault policies are unconstitutional, according to the lawsuit, and so is the department’s failure to train and discipline officers. The three residents, who are Black, were in extremely vulnerable situations when they had their belongings taken by the police, the lawsuit explains.
“BPD unlawfully seized and searched Plaintiffs’ personal property while Plaintiffs were at their most vulnerable after suffering severe injuries as innocent bystanders to and victims of violent crimes,” it says.
“After they were assaulted, they also became the victims of BPD.”
23-year-old Baltimore resident Damon Gray was shot approximately seven times in the back, neck and chest by a stranger in June 2019. Gray was transported by ambulance to the hospital where BPD officers seized his cell phone, a bracelet, a necklace and several articles of clothing without his consent, the lawsuit alleges.
Gray, who was left severely disable from the shooting, was given no documentation of the seizure or any information about how to reclaim his personal property, which remains in BPD’s custody, the lawsuit says.
In March 2019, 36-year-old mother Faye Cottman was at the playground with her two sons when a woman approached her 11-year-old son and pointed a gun at him. As Cottman ran to protect her son, the shooter shot him in the head,” the lawsuit explains.
“Ms. Cottman threw herself on top of her son and pleaded with the shooter not to kill them. The shooter then pointed the gun at Ms. Cottman and pulled the trigger twice, but the gun jammed. On the third attempt, the shooter shot Ms. Cottman in the back of the head, then ran away.”
The lawsuit alleges BPD officers then arrived at the scene and seized Cottman’s personal property without consent, including her jacket, cell phone, wig and shoes, without providing any documentation on the seizure or information on how to get her property back.
Then, in March 2020, Amber Spencer, 27, was at a cookout for her boyfriend’s birthday when she was shot in the head and chest. She was taken to hospital, where BPD officers took her cell phone, jeans, shirt, shoes, car key and approximately $400 without her consent, the lawsuit alleges.
As with Gray and Cottman, Spencer was given no documentation of the seizure or any information about how to reclaim her personal property, which remains in BPD’s custody, the lawsuit says, adding Spencer has tried multiple times to retrieve her property, but has faced constant delays by the BPD.
“This deprivation of rights caused Plaintiffs harm, including lost wages due to lost working time, the lost value of the property unlawfully seized, emotional distress, personal humiliation, and the deprivation of the use of the property unreasonably taken,” the lawsuit claims.
BPD has a pattern and practice of unconstitutionally searching, seizing and retaining the personal property of victims of violent crimes in Baltimore, and has a culture of noncompliance, the lawsuit says.
“This pattern and practice must end, which is why Plaintiffs bring this case.”
The residents are seeking to represent anyone in Baltimore who was the victim of serious assaults on or after April 1, 2018 and whose property BPD unlawfully seized without a warrant or consent. There is also a continuing seizure subclass, currency seizure subclass and an illegal phone search subclass.
The three residents are suing over violations of the United States Constitution’s Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments and are seeking certification of the Class, admissions of constitutional violations, changes in BPD policy and practices, the return of property, damages, legal fees and a jury trial.
BPD is not the only police department currently facing a class action lawsuit. In December 2o20, a lawsuit was filed against the New York Police Department (NYPD) alleging it inflicted police violence on peaceful protesters in June.
Samira Sierra and others allege officers used batons, pepper spray, and other means to assault “Black and Latinx” people at a peaceful Bronx protest June 4, “in an operation that evoked the Edmund Pettus Bridge attack.”
Have you ever had anything taken from you by the police? Did you get your property back easily? Let us know in the comments section!
The plaintiffs are represented by Tianna Mays of Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, and Ellen M. Murphy, Anne C. Malik, Nicole Lloret, Matthew Reeder, Alison Epperson, Olamide Olusesi of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
The Baltimore Police Illegal Seizure Class Action Lawsuit is Damon Gray, et al. vs. Baltimore Police Department, et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-00837-SAG, in the U.S. District Court District of Maryland.
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