A 56-year-old Omaha woman alleges her constitutional rights were violated when she was forcefully detained after refusing a search of her home.
In a federal lawsuit filed in May, Lawanda Valentine-Williams alleges she was arrested by Omaha police with excessive force in retaliation for her refusal of a warrantless search of her home in May 2021. Valentine-Williams is seeking monetary damages.
On May 12, 2021, officers with the Omaha Police Department asked to search Valentine-Williams’ home, but she refused. While officers said they had a search warrant, Valentine-Williams reportedly asked multiple times to see the warrant, but it was never shown to her.
According to the lawsuit, officers did not allow Valentine-Williams to reenter her home and she was placed in handcuffs and dragged off of her porch and onto the lawn. Photos included in the lawsuit show Omaha police officers forcibly moving her across the lawn.
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Valentine-Williams was then locked in a police cruiser, according to the lawsuit, for at least an hour and a half before she was taken to the Douglas County Jail, where she was held for approximately six hours.
She was then charged with obstructing the administration of the law and resisting arrest, though the charges were dropped in September 2021, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleges Valentine-Williams was discriminated against because she is Black and alleges the City of Omaha is responsible for allowing a pattern of police officers retaliating against Black residents who refuse a warrantless search of their property.
A response filed on July 3 by a deputy Omaha city attorney calling for a jury trial denied many of Valentine-Williams’ claims and stated the city could not be held liable under federal civil rights law for the claims of actions by specific Omaha police officers unless those actions were based on an official policy, practice or custom.
The response went on to state any force used against Valentine-Williams by city employees was “minimal, reasonable, justified and in conformance with nationally accepted law enforcement practices.â€