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Subscribe to RSSA Florida sheriff’s department is denying a woman's claim that she was strip-searched in public and had her tampon “forcibly” removed by a female officer during a 2011 traffic stop with her children in the car.
Leila Tarantino filed a lawsuit on Aug. 3 in U.S. District Court in Florida's Ocala County against the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. She alleges she was not only frisked but that a female officer removed her tampon during a roadside search on July 17.
The lawsuit names Citrus County Sheriff Jeffrey J. Dawsey and six officers, referred to as “John Doe Officers 1-5” and “Jane Doe Officer,” as defendants.
View Tarantino’s federal lawsuit (Pdf.)
The sheriff's office denied claims.
“The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office wants to go on record as saying the allegations made in this lawsuit are not only ludicrous, but completely untrue,” it said in a statement released to NBC News on Monday. “No strip search was conducted, and the plaintiff’s tampon was never forcibly removed by any deputy.”
Tarantino alleges that she was pulled over by an officer in Beverly Hills, Fla., after she had stopped at a stop sign on South Columbus Street. She said her two children were passengers in the vehicle at the time of the alleged 4 p.m. incident.
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She accuses the officer of pulling her over, pointing a gun at her, yanking her out of her vehicle, handcuffing her behind her back, then throwing her in the back of his squad car, according to the lawsuit. Tarantino claims she asked why she had been pulled over and the officer didn’t respond.
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She claims she waited in the police cruiser for two hours and when other officers arrived, she was frisked and strip-searched at the side of a busy road, the lawsuit alleges. She said her children had been waiting in the woman's vehicle the entire time. The lawsuit's account:
“During her detention, PLAINTIFF was frisked and strip searched twice at the side of the busy road, in plain view of passers by. During one of the strip searches, PLAINTIFF had a tampon forcibly removed by JANE DOE OFFICER.
"At no point was a drug sniffing dog used to search for contraband,” the lawsuit stated, adding “None of the officers ever found any weapons, drugs, contraband or anything illegal during plaintiff’s detention.”
According to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, Tarantino was issued a criminal citation for violation of restrictions on her driver’s license. She also was issued a written warning for rolling through a stop sign.
Tarantino's lawyer, Matthew W. Birk emailed to NBC News the following statement: "This case is currently in litigation and will be tried in a courtroom, not the press. The allegations made by Ms. Tarantino are set forth in the Complaint, which is a public record. Because of the sensitive nature of this matter, Ms. Tarantino will not be available for comment until after her lawsuit concludes.
"This case is currently in litigation and will be tried in a courtroom, not the press. The allegations made by Ms. Tarantino are set forth in the Complaint, which is a public record. Because of the sensitive nature of this matter, Ms. Tarantino will not be available for comment until after her lawsuit concludes."
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Leave a Comment:
Feel bad for the dog . . .
Feel bad for the dog
eeeeewww. Too much information. Next story please.
Whatever this lady is on for her cramps is way too strong. It's causing delusions.
If I were the police department, I counter sue.
Hard to believe her story except that I know a lot of cops, it may be exactly how she described it. After two hours on a busy street, I'm sure there are several witnesses that should come forward.
No way all of this happened - she is either crazy, after money or BOTH! Nowhere in this country could 6 cops be on the side of the road and drivers not slow down and stare. Especially, if they have a vehicle pulled over. Now add in 2 road-side strip searches.
She said this happened over a 2 hour period. Since it took her 2 years to file a lawsuit, her sense of timing is suspect. Or maybe it took that long to find an attorney desperate enough to take the case.
And Mr. Birk, we really don't want to hear from Ms. Tarantino after the lawsuits concludes - she has said more than enough.
cops will lie all the time, it is hard to prove them wrong because every one of them will back a fellow officers charges
They used a drug sniffing dog? Sounds fishy to me! I bet they used the new drug sniffing cat named Morris ! If this was done in England ithey would say " It's a Bloody shame !!! "
If there's blood involved is she Mrs Quentin Tarantino? I 'll bet there's a movie coming out about it...call it String Fingers!!!
Why the hell would ANYONE, let alone a cop want to take out a woman's tampon??
As ludicrous as this sounds, nothing surprises me anymore.
This is too stupid for words! This is a whacko trying to get money. What kind of a nut would think this up? There cannot be a cop this nuts to do such a thing. I don't believe her story for one second! The crazy people in our society are making me sick!
Wow...the sh!t some people come up with.
Although I do believe that most cops are arrogant and will lie at the drop of a hat......(seen it too often)........
I don't believe this woman's cockamamie story. It's just too far fetched and there are no witnesses. If she was strip searched out in public, and her basic right to modesty was infringed upon, there would be some type of witnesses who would corraborate her story. Sorry Lady - I think you're making up about 90% of your claim.
There is no way a woman would be strip-searched (TWICE) on a busy road, and have her tampon pulled out and dangled for all the world to see, without at least one other driver stopping to gawk or take pictures. This chick is LYING.
Wow......sure hope that lady is full of it because that's just repulsive....omgosh
Something about this story smells funny to me.
I live in this "good 'ol boy" county and the sheriff's dept IS corrupt. While I'm not sure if I believe ALL of her story, I think parts of it is true. My DH got pulled over on his way to work, detained on the street for 2 hours while they brought out a dog and 6 other police officers, stating they pulled him over for speeding. After all that, he didn't even get a speeding ticket, just told him it was "procedure" and let him go on his way, 2 hrs late for work. BTW, he has no prior tickets, no arrests, etc. Absolutely clean. He was video recording them with his cell phone the whole time (which he informed them he was doing, required by law) and could prove he didn't do anything wrong, which is probably why they didn't try to stick him with some BS.
My oldest son is getting ready to start driving soon and I have seriously thought about installing some sort of dash cam just to protect him from being harassed by these bully cops. I used to live in Clearwater and thought those cops were bad, but these guys take the cake! And Dawsy is the leader of them all and should be voted out ASAP.
Nonymouse-what part do you believe to be true? The tampon? The two hours? The two strip searches? What do you want to leave in and what don't you believe?
Maybe you should try being a parent to your son and not a friend. Teach him whats right...if in fact you know, and he will be fine. The whole world is not out to get you. Or him. Or me.
I believe she was detained for 2 hours but not about the strip searches. That enough for you?
I don't think you have any room to criticize how I parent my son (which you have absolutely no idea about). I am definitely not trying to be his "friend" and am definitely being a parent, despite what you may think. I am also a realist and know FOR A FACT how corrupt our police department is (do YOU know my PD? I DO, and I know several cops that retired from the department BECAUSE they refused to take part in the corruption) and so am willing to take steps to protect him from CORRUPT people. He knows that he has nothing to hide when he's done nothing wrong, but also knows he will be targeted because of his age. I am NOT a conspiracy theorist, at all. I just know that the world is not all roses and rainbows and I try to teach him that he MUST think for himself and not follow the sheeple and believe someone just because they have a badge of authority. Ignorance does not make one innocent.
Were you there when your son was detained for two hours or did you son tell you this?
not my son....my hubby. And he has video and audio recording of the entire encounter, not to mention that he called me every 10 minutes to let me know he was STILL sitting there with the cops.
It sounds like this woman is searching for dollars. Why would a cop remove a tampon or even want to? Yeeech! Red
Common Red ,you act as if no one has a tampon collection
Bogus story. Funny how the lawyer puts the story out in the media, then says "it will be tried in court, not the media." he's the only one talking to the media about the case.
Why? He doesn't want to go to court, he wants a settlement. She is lying and trying to cash in. The police have tape, if this event occurred they would have settled already. She waited a year so hopefully the tape would be gone, but looks like it's not, because they're not budging. This is all we'll see on this story, it won't go any further than a sensational story of a lying traffic violator, trying to get free money.
Someone asked would they go around and do it? In the past, yes. We completely avoided certain areas in Georgia because even our insurance company said to reroute our trips. In Texas a friend and business manager got pulled over on his bicycle and made some laughing comment which wasn't that bad. But the good ole boys, well one took offense. And so it began, he was harassed on a daily basis., Thrown against walls, frisked, for absolutely no reason. I had another friend who was related to someone in their 'justice' system. He said to be careful because he'd end up dead-and he meant it. He said to let him talk to his uncle and smooth things out and for our 'offending friend' not to joke around with these guys again. Our friend went to his uncle, and as quickly as it started, the harassment stopped.
So yeah, someone can be harassed for no reason other than being out late, because the business closes at 1:00 and it takes till 3 to clean up. Some people have no sense of humor. Then again, it isn't every town by even a longshot. We have had several law enforcement friends over many years. Great people all of them.
Did this happen as she said? I wasn't there. Most officers would never even think of doing such things. To find 6 in the same area that were willing to go in together on a 'molestation' which is what it would have been, seems so 1960's.
I am skeptical of her story. One reason is that it is very unlikely that the police would conduct a strip-search during a traffic stop.
I was driving with my daughter screaming (she had colic) and the crying distracted me like every mother. I was trying to get to closest stop to feed her. A cop stopped me. Unfamiliar with US cops rules, I tried to get out of the car like I would in Europe. I believe the lady. I thought I would be shot at that moment. Cops should issue international warning about THEIR rules. It was quite scary experience. He was yelling at me and I am sure if I would not do what he wanted, I would be shot. They seem to be trained this way in America. But treat mothers same way as criminals? Fortunatelly he called and verified that I had everything in order, never commited ANY crime, had my driving license current and had to feed my baby. It turned out well. But yes, cops are trained to be PARANOID and I have never experiences anything like this in Europe. But also in Europe, there was very little crime compare to America. Still, should not they cops use their judgment? Did I look like a criminal and would I carry with me infant to shoot at him? It is sad...There should be warning. I learned my lesson and do not move when I am approached, hopefully everybody is watching TV and knows that if they move, they will be shot.
Cops are not "trained to be paranoid". They are trained to go home after their shift is over. It takes very little strength and ability to pull a trigger and kill someone. A lady can accomplish this as easily as a man. Everything is not what it appears. It sounds to me you were treated the same way you would have been by almost any well trained police officer in the United States. Textbook traffic stop. You approach that car, the officer has NO IDEA what your intention is and if you don't follow the commands, there is a good chance you will be going to the ER if not the morgue. All the filler in your story about the colic and the baby, how is the officer supposed to know what is going on with that kid. How does he know you have not just kidnapped the child and maybe even hurt it. It sounds to me like your day turned out well and you got to go home. And yes, many crazy, phsyco criminals will have children with them to use for pawns, barricades and will even shield themselves with them. They care not about the child and only for themselves. Until proven otherwise, and to quote you, the cop did use their "judgement" and you ended up lucky!
in all due respect for both parties and knowing of everything that's happening in the world today it's extremely hard to say whom is lying and whom is telling the truth in a%