Southern Indiana woman, ACLU file lawsuit against Evansville police officer

EVANSVILLE – A Gibson County, Indiana, woman has filed a lawsuit against an Evansville police officer, accusing him of patting her down, searching her car and impounding the vehicle without cause.

The woman, identified as Kendra Owen, says the officer violated her Fourth Amendment rights. She's demanding a jury trial, and is being represented by attorney Gavin Rose with the Indiana branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU filed the suit in U.S. District Court on Thursday. The complaint identifies the EPD officer only as “M. Taylor,” but does list his badge number. According to an agenda from a 2019 Police Merit Commission meeting, the number matches that of Officer Matthew O. Taylor.

The suit alleges police had placed an “alert” on Owen years earlier after she took part in “First Amendment auditing” – where citizens legally film in public spaces such as post offices and government buildings.

“At no point during these occasions did she violate any law, nor was she arrested for or criminally charged with any offense,” the lawsuit says. Still, it claims police listed Owen in their system as “suspicious.”

EPD spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Gray said she hadn’t been made aware of the suit as of Thursday morning.

“But we typically don’t make statements about active, ongoing lawsuits,” she said.

Later Thursday, Gray issued a statement saying EPD was aware of the lawsuit and that it stood by Taylor's actions. It also released body camera footage on the department's Facebook page.

In it, Taylor tells Owen he's doing an "investigatory stop" because Owen was parked outside of a bank with her engine running.

In the lawsuit, the ACLU points out there's nothing illegal about parking outside of a bank.

More:What can police in Indiana do when they pull you over?

What does the complaint say?

According to the complaint, Owen was working as an Uber driver on the night of Jan. 14. She was between fares when she legally parked her car on West Illinois Street, near the Franklin Street bar district, and left the car running.

Between 11 and 11:30 p.m., Taylor initiated a stop “without probable cause or reasonable suspicion of any kind,” the complaint reads. He then radioed dispatchers to run a check on the vehicle.

“Dispatch informed Officer Taylor that the registered owner of the vehicle was Ms. Owen and that there is an ‘alert’ on her that she has been seen acting suspiciously . . . at various locations” in 2017 and 2018, the complaint reads.

Dispatch allegedly said Owen had refused to identify herself during those incidents. The alert described her as “uncooperative.”

“At the time of the events giving rise to this litigation, she did not realize that a law enforcement ‘alert’ had been established as a result of her legal, and constitutionally protected, activities,” the complaint reads.

Taylor asked Owen for identification, but she reportedly declined. He then ordered Owen out of the car to conduct a what the suit calls a “non-consensual pat-down search.”

Owen also declined to show Taylor her registration or proof of insurance. He eventually issued her a citation for operating a vehicle without proof of responsibility. According to court records, that charge was dismissed earlier this month.

The complaint says police then ordered Owen off the sidewalk, but since she lives in Gibson County, she had nowhere to go. She had to call a relative for a ride home.

What does the body camera show?

EPD released three pieces of body camera footage Thursday evening, running about 27 minutes in total.

"Do you have your driver’s license?" Taylor says as he approaches the vehicle.

"Yes I do," Owen says. "I’m parked."

"Yes ma’am. You’re also parked outside of a bank with your vehicle running kind of random, so I’m just checking on the area," Taylor says.

Taylor goes on to repeatedly say that, "under Indiana law," he can ask for forms of ID if a vehicle is running and the occupant is in the driver's seat. Eventually, he gives Owen the option of either providing her license, registration, and proof of insurance or stepping out of the car for it to be towed.

She chooses the latter, and sits on the back bumper of the vehicle as Taylor begins what's known as an "inventory search."

In Indiana, police can legally search all parts of a vehicle if they decide to impound it. Anything found during an inventory search is admissible in court, the ACLU has told the Courier & Press, as long as the search is not “used as a façade” in lieu of “an actual criminal investigatory search.”

As the search starts to wrap up, Taylor tells Owen she can get whatever she needs out of the car before they haul it away, and offers to return a can of pepper spray he found. After retrieving her purse and a few other things, she moves to the sidewalk.

“Ma’am, if you want, you can go over into that parking lot or you can go back over there, but I can’t have you standing right here," Taylor says.

“This is a public sidewalk," Owen responds. "Lock my ass up!”

“You can walk over there or you can walk over there, ma’am," Taylor says.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m standing on a (expletive) public sidewalk.”

“You’re also interfering with the investigation, ma’am.”

She then walks forward and puts her arms up, seemingly offering them for handcuffs.

“Alright go ahead," she says. "... In for a penny, in for a pound. You might as well go for it.”

"OK," Taylor says, but doesn't move.

"Have a nice day," Owen says.

“I will," Taylor says. "Thank you, ma’am.”

Tayor named in another lawsuit

Taylor is also named as a defendant in another federal lawsuit against EPD. He was reportedly one of the officers involved in the arrest of Pennsylvania man Edward Snukis. Snukis later died in custody.

On Sept. 13, 2019, officers were called to a car lot on Evansville's East Side for a report of a man who appeared to be impaired.

According to body camera footage and the lawsuit, Snukis attempted to run away from police, leading to a struggle. Officers tased Snukis multiple times, struck him in the head with a closed fist, and applied pressure on his head, neck, shoulders, chest, and back while he was on the ground.

The lawsuit alleges the officers used excessive force even though there was no evidence Snukis presented a threat to them or the public.

What is a First Amendment auditor?

First Amendment auditing is popular in certain corners of the Internet. “Long Island Audit,” run by a man based in New York, has more than 400,000 subscribers on YouTube.

In many of the videos, he enters public spaces such as city halls and casually films as he walks through the building. In a “tour” of the Binghamton, New York, city hall, he requests Freedom of Information Act forms and interacts with city workers – some of whom are polite, and some of whom are confrontational. He's been kicked out of buildings and has sometimes landed in court.

The lawsuit doesn’t specify what kind of buildings Owen allegedly visited during her “audits,” only that she did nothing illegal. The only case against Owen listed in court records is the charge she received on Jan. 14, which was dismissed Monday.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Southern Indiana woman, ACLU file lawsuit against Evansville police