MOBILE, Ala. — An Atlanta-area lawyer and his driver have filed a federal lawsuit accusing several former Prichard police officers and the city of conspiring to frame them on drug charges, an arrest that federal prosecutors now say was engineered by a corrupt officer using planted fentanyl.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of attorney Terry Bailey and driver Brandon Tatum, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
The lawsuit at a glance
- Plaintiffs: Atlanta-area attorney Terry Bailey and his driver, Brandon Tatum
- Defendants: Former officer Emanuel Naman Dotch II; former Police Chief Walter Knight; officers Aaron Tucker, Ryan Spencer, Terrance Palmore and R. Jones; and the city of Prichard
- Allegation: A conspiracy to manufacture probable cause and plant a bag of fentanyl to arrest the two men
- Jail time: Bailey spent two nights in jail; Tatum was held about two weeks
- Outcome of charges: A judge dismissed them
- Damages sought: Unspecified compensatory and punitive damages
A trip to meet a client
The November incident is also part of a federal indictment charging Dotch with several corruption-related offenses. According to that indictment, Bailey came to Prichard to meet a potential client at Lotus Gentlemen’s Club. When he arrived, police searched his vehicle and arrested both him and Tatum.
The civil complaint and federal prosecutors both allege that Dotch coached other officers on how to manufacture probable cause to search the vehicle, where officers found a bag of fentanyl that had been planted. Bailey spent two nights in jail. Tatum was locked up for about two weeks. A judge ultimately dismissed the charges.
‘Outside of a TV show’
Mark Begnaud, the attorney representing Bailey and Tatum in the civil case, said the allegations are unlike anything he has encountered.
“I have seen lots of different versions of corruption in my career,” Begnaud said. “I’ve never seen anything like this outside … of a TV show. Where you have pervasive corruption within the department, but you also have this setup with multiple third-party conspirators. You have a law enforcement officer setting up an illegal search. You have four people on the ground willing to go through with the illegal search.”
Motive remains unclear
It is not clear what Dotch’s motive may have been. Neither the federal indictment nor the lawsuit addresses it. Begnaud said he believes federal investigators have a theory.
“But we’re going to leave that to the federal investigation rather than at this point getting into motivations,” he said.
Dotch’s attorney in the criminal case did not immediately return a call seeking comment, and neither did Prichard’s city attorney. Dotch is presumed innocent of the criminal charges unless and until proven guilty, and the allegations in the civil lawsuit have not been proven in court.
‘Your reputation means everything’
Beyond the trauma of being jailed, Begnaud said, Bailey suffered severe damage to his reputation.
“You have a practicing lawyer in Atlanta where your reputation means everything, and he was plastered all over the media with felony trafficking fentanyl next to his name,” Begnaud said. “You know, anytime a client goes to hire him and looks him up online, that’s going to pop up.”
Can the plaintiffs collect?
Even if Bailey and Tatum win a large judgment, it is uncertain how much they would be able to collect. Several of the officers face criminal charges, both for this incident and for unrelated allegations, and the city of Prichard has lost its liability insurance coverage. Begnaud said the city’s previous insurance policy, depending on how it is written, may cover damages for actions that occurred while it was in effect.
“But I mean, this case isn’t all about being able to collect,” he said. “I mean, this is also about accountability. You know, we’ve got a – we know that Dotch is facing a federal criminal case, and so it looks like there’s going to be some level of accountability in the criminal cases there. But this lawsuit is for everybody else. … We also just more broadly want to send a message about who pays when this sort of thing happens.”
How civil rights lawsuits against police work
Lawsuits like this one are typically brought under a federal civil rights law, 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, which allows people to sue government officials who violate their constitutional rights, such as the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Individual officers often raise a defense known as qualified immunity, which can shield them from liability unless they violated clearly established rights. Cities can be held liable in certain circumstances, such as when a violation results from an official policy, a widespread custom or the decisions of officials with final policymaking authority.
A department in turmoil
The lawsuit adds to mounting legal and financial pressure on Prichard. The city’s police department has been the focus of a widening corruption investigation that has led to the arrests of multiple officers, including former Police Chief Walter Knight and Officer Aaron Tucker on separate corruption-related charges, and Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood has called for the city to abolish its police department and start over. Prichard has also been searching for a new police chief while dealing with the loss of its insurance coverage.
The case will proceed in federal court. This article will be updated as it moves forward.