Appeals court allows lawsuit against Illinois officer over civil rights violations in videotaped drug stop

A report published on the Washington Post said that a lawsuit lodged against Collinsville, Illinois police officer Michael Reichert by a documentary filmmaker has been allowed to move forward according to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Reichert allegedly violated the civil rights of one Terrance Huff in a pull-over that was documented via a dashboard camera.

Huff, perhaps embodying the attitude of a documentary filmmaker, was able to obtain the footage of the event to support his claim in the lawsuit that Reichert had used tactics police agencies insist are official procedures in the hopes of getting cash, cars and other properties. despite the fact that the police officer had sent Huff on his way after an extensive search. Although Huff was not found to have a significant amount of drugs in his possession, Reinchert, in his defense later in court said that the filmmaker had a marijuana "shake," or loose cannabis leaves.

The Post said local defense lawyers had dubbed Interstate 70, just outside of St Louis, where Huff was stopped by Reichert. as a "forfeiture corridor." Huff's lawsuit highlighted concerns on how Reichert violated Huff's rights with how he had conducted his search on Huff and Huff's car, which was bolstered by video evidence. The Post also said that the incident also shed light to the police officer's history of disciplinary problems while in the police force. Huff even claimed in his lawsuit that Reichert has done actions that are not considered legal, such as training his drug dog by wiping marijuana on cars that are parked at local stores without consent from the owners of the car.

The newspaper said that for individuals who wish to sue police officers for civil rights violations and be able to get in front of a jury, one needs to establish the fact that authorities had indeed made such violations at that time the latter had made them. As such, police officers are protected by the doctrine of qualified immunity, the paper said.

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US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Illinois police officer qualified immunity case

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