Jackson County woman gets $140,000 settlement after Rock County search

LUVERNE - An American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota lawsuit resulted in a $140,000 settlement for a Jackson County woman, along with law enforcement reforms such as updated policies, training in dashcam use and body searches, supervisory review of stops and arrests, a revised complaint process and clearer search definitions.

ACLU-MN filed the suit in May 2020 against Rock County deputies Dallas Hamm and Shelley Douty, as well as Rock County Sheriff Evan Verbrugge and the county, alleging that the county violated the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with state law.

The lawsuit stems from a November 2018 incident in which Hamm pulled over a driver for a dangling air freshener. According to the defendants in the lawsuit, the vehicle had been at an apartment complex associated with narcotics sales.

https://www.dglobe.com/news/crime-and-courts/7180820-Jackson-County-woman-gets-140000-settlement-after-Rock-County-search