(KSDK/YouTube)
A 24-year old Missouri woman filed a $25,000 lawsuit Friday calling a local cop "a sexual voyeur and predator of the worst kind," over what she said was a traffic stop that turned into an invasion of privacy.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are identified only as Jane and John Doe, a married couple living in Florissant, who have several children. They sued the Florissant Police Department and an officer identified only as "Joe Smith," whose true identity they do not know, and who the department says is no longer employed as a police officer.
According to the complaint, Smith "runs amok in the City, victimizing people like Jane Doe." The filing details a series of events that occurred in February 2024 when Smith pulled Jane Doe over for a traffic stop due to a broken taillight. The officer allegedly asked Doe if she had insurance and "[c]uriously, Officer Smith told Plaintiff that she needed to pull up proof of insurance on her phone and show it to him."
Doe said that when she unlocked her phone to show her insurance, the officer "abruptly" took her phone back to his police vehicle without her consent, disconnected the Bluetooth connection with the woman's car, and remained in his car with the phone for more than 10 minutes.
Ultimately, the lawsuit says, Smith returned the phone and drove away without issuing a ticket.
The following July, Doe was contacted by the FBI in what she said was "not a pleasant experience."
Agents asked Doe to identify a photograph of a naked woman that had been printed and enlarged. According to the lawsuit, Doe was "shocked" to find that the photograph was of herself — and it was a photograph that she had only ever exchanged with her husband. According to the filing, the FBI alerted Doe that the picture of her was not the only explicit photo they discovered in Smith's possession. Doe asserted in the complaint that Smith scrolled through her phone "voyeuristically viewing naked photographs of both her and her husband and their intimate messages," then used his own phone to take pictures of Doe's pictures.
Doe said that since the incident, she has been "incredibly disturbed" and suffered humiliation, severe emotional distress, and a shattering of her trust.
"Plaintiffs have lost all faith in the Florissant Police, and grow nervous whenever they see an officer," the filing said. Doe said that she has suffered severe anxiety as a result of the incident and has incurred related medical expenses.
Doe brought claims for invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, trespass to chattels, negligent hiring, negligent retention, negligent supervision, and negligent training and requested $25,000 in damages.
The Florissant Police Department posted the following statement on its Facebook page Wednesday:
The Florissant Police Department is aware of a lawsuit alleging officer misconduct while on duty. We are deeply concerned by these allegations and want to assure the community that we take any claim of officer misconduct very seriously. The safety of everyone in our community remains our top priority. We hold our employees to a high standard of integrity and expect them to treat every member of our community with dignity and respect.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation St. Louis Division is leading the investigation into this matter and the Department is cooperating in that investigation. The officer in question is no longer employed by the City of Florissant and there is no indication that any other member of the Florissant Police Department was involved in the alleged misconduct.
The plaintiffs believe there might be other victims, local CBS affiliate KMOV reported. Prosecutors are also reportedly investigating to determine whether to bring criminal charges.
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