Second strip search trial begins
Victim says former officer didn't seem willing at first, but became more aggressive
Former Marysville police officer Amy Alfred's search of a drug suspect was "minimal" and "noninvasive" and was done at the command of a superior officer, Alfred's attorney told Yuba County jurors Wednesday.
Alfred is facing a misdemeanor charge of conducting an illegal body cavity search of Stacy Michelle May on a Saturday afternoon in January on a city street.
The "superior" officer referred to by defense attorney William Rappoport was Joshua Hendrickson, who was recently convicted by a jury of authorizing the search. Hendrickson is appealing the conviction and seeking a stay of the 90-day jail sentence handed down by Judge Julia Scrogin.
When told by Hendrickson to put on rubber gloves and do the search, Alfred's reaction was, "Can we do that? Are you serious?" said Rappoport.
Rappoport cross-examined May exhaustively on her account of the search, asking exactly how far her jeans were pulled down and the position of Alfred's hands.
Alfred was "like wow. She was just doin' a little too much," May said.
Alfred did not find any drugs.
May testified that, before the search, she told Hendrickson, "You can check if you want to."
"I'm not denying I said, 'Just look,'" May told Rappoport.
May said she got the impression Alfred was not expecting to do the search. Alfred "came across real soft" at first but then became more aggressive, saying, "If you have something, I'm gonna find it," May said.
Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello, who successfully prosecuted Hendrickson, told jurors in his opening statement that Alfred "knowingly and willfully" did the illegal search.
On the way to the scene of the search, Alfred told a "ridealong" — a female relative of another officer — who was in the patrol car with her, "I hope (Hendrickson) doesn't want me to search her vagina," Sorbello said.
Sorbello said Hendrickson had already done a routine "patdown" search of May. At that point, the only reason for calling a female officer to the scene would be for a cavity search, he said.
A cavity search should be done only with the permission of a supervising officer at the Police Department and should have been done at the department or at the Yuba County Jail, not on the street during the day as cars drove by, Sorbello said during Hendrickson's trial.
The trial will resume today and is expected to last at least through Friday. Alfred is free on bail.
Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.
