VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) - A woman is suing a south Georgia county and two sheriff’s deputies, saying she was unfairly detained and searched following a traffic stop.
Maria de Lourdes Deustua Lavoriel sued Lowndes County and the deputies in federal court earlier in January.
Lavoriel said she was driving on July 24 when she was stopped by the deputies, one of whom asked to see her driver’s license. She said deputies arrested her for not having a valid license, even though she did.
Lavoriel is a noncitizen legal resident, lawyer J.L. King II tells The Valdosta Daily Times.
She was taken to the Lowndes County jail, stripped and given a full-body search, the complaint says.
The driver’s license charge was dismissed Aug. 20 in state court.
The county and the deputies are being sued for violation of Lavoriel’s Fourth Amendment rights regarding unreasonable seizure “of plaintiff Maria’s person,” false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and negligence based on unreasonable conduct, the lawsuit says.
No disciplinary action has been taken against the two deputies, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said.
“I don’t think they’ve done anything illegal,” he said.
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