ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis woman is suing a police department and officers, citing alleged violation of civil rights due to unlawful arrest.
Destiny Payne filed a complaint June 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division against the city of St. Louis, Vernon Betts, Charlene Deeken Kimberly Gardner, Dale Glass, et al. alleging the defendants violated the Fourth and 14th Amendments' rights to be free from unreasonable seizure.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Oct. 26, she was taken by the defendants to a police station and was interrogated by officers without having an attorney present. After answering questions about an alleged robbery she witnessed, she was arrested and detained. Because she was unable to post bond, the plaintiff was at the St. Louis Medium Security Institution for 196 days, according to court records. Her charges were eventually dismissed but she claims she remained in the institution for an additional 15 days without charges. As a result, Payne claims she was wrongfully incarcerated and deprived of her freedom, which caused her severe emotional distress.
The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because they allegedly failed to release her from her imprisonment when her charges were dismissed, failed to establish effective policies and failed to properly train public officers, who caused the violation of plaintiff’s civil rights.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment for compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees, costs and for such other and further relief as the court deems just and proper. She is represented by Elad Gross of Elad Gross Attorney at Law in St. Louis.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division case number 4:17-cv-01769-AGF