Woman sues West Jordan police alleging wrongful arrest while she was naked in hotel room
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A woman is suing West Jordan police alleging several officers violated her rights when they mistakenly arrested her at a hotel in September, dragging her outside in handcuffs, naked from the waist down.
Sheri Meyer filed the civil lawsuit earlier this month in 3rd Judicial Court, seeking damages for what her attorneys described as a “highly embarrassing and traumatic ordeal.” She alleges five officers violated her Fourth Amendment rights and later filed false police reports, claiming she tried to punch an officer.
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ABC4 reached out to West Jordan police for comment, and they expressed confidence that the officers acted within procedure during the incident. Police added that a formal review of the case is underway, and they won’t comment further.
The lawsuit against the officers stems from an arrest in the early morning hours of Sept. 26 at the MyPlace Hotel in the Wasatch Front community roughly 10 miles south of Salt Lake City.
According to a statement from Meyer’s attorneys, the officers responded to a noise complaint, and mistakenly knocked on Meyer’s door around 4 a.m.
“Rather than leaving, or even speaking to the complainant, police knocked loudly and continuously on the door to Sheri Meyer’s room, until a sleeping Mrs. Meyer woke up and came to the door naked from the waist down,” the statement said.
She tried to crack the door, so as not to expose herself, and allow the officers to view the room, the attorneys said. Yet, police insisted that Meyer go into the hallway while they searched the room. They later refused to let her close the door and get dressed.
The officers blocked the door, the lawsuit alleges. When Meyer’s told them they needed a warrant to search the room and refused to let them in, the officers burst by her, forcing Meyer onto the bed, where she was handcuffed.
When the officers searched the room, they determined she was indeed alone. The original complaint had suggested two people were in a noisy argument in one of the hotel rooms, possibly with a crying baby.
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Instead of admitting their mistake, the officers dragged Meyer outside the hotel, where she was made to lie naked on the grass, her attorneys said. Officers placed Meyer in a restraint device, and she passed out several times. The device was described in the lawsuit as a WRAP body suit.
“Police took Mrs. Meyer to the jail charging her with multiple felonies and misdemeanors, alleging she had assaulted officers,” the attorney’s statement said. “Ironically, Mrs. Meyer was never charged with any crime the officers were at the hotel to investigate.”
The lawsuit alleges the officers made false statements in the police reports supporting the charges, specifically that Meyer “swung at an officer.” However, her attorneys said the body camera footage showed nothing of the sort, only that she pointed at them.
Meyer’s attorneys said that when the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the body camera footage of the arrest, they dismissed all the charges against Meyer with prejudice.
ABC4 has not reviewed the body camera footage, as West Jordan police said it is being withheld due to the ongoing litigation.
Meyer’s attorneys said she initially hired counsel to ask the city for an apology, compensation, and discipline for the officers involved. When the city didn’t respond, she filed the lawsuit.
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