DA County To Pay Millions In Strip Search Settlement

LAS CRUCES, NM – Dona Ana County will pay almost $5-million dollars to settle a federal lawsuit out of court.

The lawsuit is in regards to alleged misconduct by county officers during strip searches at the county’s detention center. County officials tell ABC-7 seven people, including two women and five men, are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs allege they were illegally stripped naked and searched without regard to the nature of the alleged offenses they had been arrested for. According to them, the staff at the detention center had no reason to believe they had any weapons or contraband on them.

The lawsuit states the detention center violated the constitutional rights of the inmates, such as the right to be free of unreasonable search and seizures and the right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment.

It states some of the inmates were made to strip naked and forced to bend over and grab their ankles. This type of practice should not happen if someone is arrested for non-violent offenses such as DWI or for failing to pay traffic fines, argue the plaintiffs.

Settlement documents state officials at the detention center conducted the strip searches to deter the introduction of of guns or weapons to the jail.

The seven plaintiffs will receive approximately $25,000 each, according to the settlement. Anyone booked at the detention center between March of 2003 and March 2006 could be eligible for some share of the settlement money.

Dona Ana Spokesman Jess Williams says a new search policy is now in practice at the detention center. “We have implemented a wide range of training with our officers in regards to the appropriate situation for a strip search. We have put down a decision tree which will help them evaluate each situation as it comes about,” he said.

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Written and reported for broadcast by Doug Wernet

Written for the web by Joe Villasana