Two Oakland men strip-searched in public win suit
SAN FRANCISCO — Two black men stripped in public during an Oakland police search have won a California lawsuit and will get at least $100,000 each.
A San Francisco federal judge issued her written ruling Thursday after a bench trial.
The judge says Spencer Troy Lucas and Kirby Bradshaw had their pants pulled down on a busy street in 2005 by Oakland officers who had stopped them for no lawful reason.
The San Francisco Chronicle says Lucas was behind the wheel of a Cadillac when he and Bradshaw were pulled over by Officer Ingo Mayer for an unspecified traffic violation.
Mayer, who is white, handcuffed Lucas, pulled down his pants and underwear and examined his genitals for drugs as a crowd watched.
Black Officer D'Vour Thurston similarly searched Bradshaw at Mayer's direction.
Two Marysville police officers were convicted of criminal charges after they conducted a strip search of a woman on the street in 2008. Joshua Hendrickson was sentenced to 90 days in jail and Amy Alfred received a 30-day sentence.
