Lawsuit filed against San Antonio police officer who pulled out woman's tampon on public street
Lawsuit filed against San Antonio police officer who pulled out woman's tampon on public street
A lawsuit against the city of San Antonio, Texas, was filed claiming that back in 2016, San Antonio police officer Mara Wilson took a woman’s tampon out, on a public street, in order to internally search her vagina—while standing on that same public street. According to KSAT12, an ABC affiliate, the lawsuit charges that Natalie Simms’ constitutional rights were violated.
According to the filing, Simms was approached by officers while sitting on a curb, talking on the phone and waiting for her boyfriend. The lawsuit claims Simms consented to a search of her car, which was parked across the street from where she was sitting, and that authorities found no illegal items.
Then, the lawsuit alleges, authorities called a female officer, Wilson, to the scene to search Simms.
The lawsuit details parts of the conversations between Simms and Wilson, recorded from Wilson's body camera. According to the court documents, Simms and Wilson went back and forth about the kind of clothes she was wearing before Wilson began searching her vaginal cavity.
This is sadly and disturbingly not the first or second or third time something like this has happened between law enforcement and women. Here is a transcript from Spectrum News of the interaction between Simms and officer Wilson.
Wilson: Stand up straight. Kind of lean back a little bit. (Inaudible) This is -- these are shorts? Oh, it's a skirt-short?
Simms: Yes.
Wilson: Oh, hell. Okay. Look straight ahead, okay. Spread your legs. I'm gonna ask you, do you have anything down here before I reach down here?
Simms: No. I don't have nothing in my --.
Wilson: Okay.
From there it goes exactly the way you think it goes, based on the headline of this article.
Wilson: Uh-huh. Are you wearing a tampon, too?
Simms: Yes.
Wilson: Okay. I just want to make sure that's what it is. Is that a tampon?
Simms: Come on. Yes.
Wilson: Huh? Is that a tampon?
Simms: It's full of blood, right? Why would you do that?
Wilson then dangled the bloody tampon and asked “rhetorical” questions in front of the other officers for half a minute. Back in August 2016, when this story broke, Texas Rep. Harold V. Dutton wondered how House Bill 324, signed into law in September 2015, did not apply here.
Art.A18.24. BODY CAVITY SEARCH DURING TRAFFIC STOP. (a) In this article, "body cavity search" means an inspection that is conducted of a person ’s anal or vaginal cavity in any manner. (b) Notwithstanding any other law, a peace officer may not conduct a body cavity search of a person during a traffic stop unless the officer first obtains a search warrant pursuant to this chapter authorizing the body cavity search.
SECTIONA2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
Good luck to this young woman in her lawsuit.
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