A San Antonio woman has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of San Antonio, claiming she was the subject of an invasive search by San Antonio police for illegal drugs, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Attorney T. Dean Malone days Natalie Simms was sitting on the curb in her neighborhood talking on the phone when an officer arrived and announced he had reason to believe Simms was in possession of illegal drugs. He says the male officer then called a female officer to conduct a search.
Malone says the female detective arrived and proceeded to pull the front of the womans pants down in the street, used a flashlight to search between her legs, and then removed female sanitary items from Simms, allegedly in search of drugs.
No drugs were found, and Simms was released from police custody.
Malone said police did not have a warrant to conduct such an invasive search of his client.
Natalie suffered through a shocking display of what can happen when police power is unchecked, he said. Natalie was humiliated and degraded as a result of this police officers actions.
The detective who allegedly conducted the search is no longer with the SAPD, Malone said. She is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, along with the City.