Many years ago, Mr. Garner had been hanging around a building known to be a drug house. CPD officers came by to search it without a warrant, and after inspecting the house, they found cocaine. They began to search the people in the building, including Mr. Garner. The officers asked him to pull his pants down so they could look for drugs, but he refused and asked the be taken to the police station instead. An officer hit him in the mouth.
Mr. Garner was arrested along with the landlord and someone else, but his brother-in-law was able to hire a lawyer to represent them. At trial, the judge found that the officers had no probable cause to arrest the three men, and Mr. Garner was free.
Although the officers’ behavior was inappropriate, Mr. Garner said that at that point, going on to sue them wasn’t on his mind. Like the people who had to decide whether to file complaints with COPA, he chose getting back to his normal life over figuring out how to voice dissatisfaction with the CPD through a complex process he knew little about.
“I didn't think about it. I was just happy to be out.”
— Samuel Garner, 63, barber