Louisville Jury Awards $814 in Police Retaliation Case

On September 16, 2016, in Louisville, Kentucky, a commercial motor vehicle enforcement officer initiated a traffic stop of a commercial truck driver for an alleged seatbelt violation. The plaintiff, an employee of the same commercial trucking company and a union steward, approached the scene to offer assistance. During the interaction, the plaintiff made comments to the officer, describing his conduct as inappropriate. The officer issued the truck driver a ticket, and the plaintiff departed.

Shortly thereafter, the officer stopped the plaintiff's vehicle for an alleged "improper turn signal," which the officer believed was an offensive gesture. The plaintiff began recording the encounter with his phone. The officer then reached into the plaintiff's vehicle to seize the phone, tearing the plaintiff's shirt in the process, and pulled the plaintiff from the car, arresting him. The plaintiff was charged with improper turn signal, resisting, and felony assault on a police officer, then held in jail for 14 hours. He reported soft-tissue neck and back pain and an ancillary exposure to pepper spray. The officer also contacted the plaintiff's employer to report the arrest, which gained local media attention due to the plaintiff's status as a congressional candidate. All criminal charges were dismissed a month later.

The plaintiff subsequently filed a civil rights lawsuit in Louisville, Kentucky, against the officer. He alleged unlawful stop, retaliation for his speech, unreasonable seizure of his person and phone, arrest without probable cause, excessive force, and malicious prosecution. The plaintiff contended the officer's actions were retaliatory, stemming from the comments made during the initial traffic stop. The officer, conversely, argued the second stop was for a legitimate traffic violation and that the plaintiff resisted by pulling him inside the truck while attempting to protect his phone.

Following a three-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff on the claims of unlawful stop, retaliation for speech, unreasonable seizure of person and phone, and malicious prosecution. The jury found for the officer on the claims of arrest without probable cause and excessive force. The plaintiff was awarded $813 in compensatory damages and $1.00 in nominal damages, though the jury declined to award punitive damages. As of the report, no final judgment had been entered, but the plaintiff was expected to seek attorney fees.