SC couple settles roadside cavity search case
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A black South Carolina couple that accused police of subjecting them to illegal body searches on the side of the road has settled a lawsuit against four white officers.
Documents filed in federal court late last week show Lakeya Hicks and Elijah Pontoon stipulated to the dismissal of their lawsuit against police officers for the City of Aiken. Court papers didn’t include an amount of the settlement.
But a document obtained by the Aiken Standard indicated the city’s insurer is paying a $150,000 settlement.
The couple’s lawsuit came after several high-profile incidents sparked a nationwide debate about how white officers treat African-Americans. In October 2014, Hicks and Pontoon say they were pulled over and subjected to a humiliating search on the side of a public road. Hicks said her breasts were exposed as she was detained and searched. Pontoon said police searched his anal cavity, and officers found no drugs in their car.