Shamel Alexander alleges discrimination on the basis of race and violation of his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Judge Geoffrey Crawford ruled May 16 on motions to dismiss from the defendants — the town of Bennington, its Police Department, Police Chief Paul Doucette and two officers involved in the arrest that led to Alexander’s conviction for heroin trafficking.
Attorneys on both sides said they were pleased with the decision.
“A person’s race does not provide grounds to initiate a criminal investigation,” said David Williams, of Jarvis, McArthur & Williams, who along with the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is representing the plaintiff.
“We are pleased that Mr. Alexander will be able to pursue these claims and vindicate his constitutional rights. And we hope that this case will finally make Bennington take its problem with racial profiling seriously,” Williams added.
“We were quite pleased,” said Nancy Sheahan, of McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan, of Burlington, who is representing the defendants. “It is always difficult to prevail on a motion to dismiss, but a large portion of the complaint was dismissed.”
The judge said the case can proceed on allegations that the officers discriminated against or profiled Alexander on the basis of race and that the town, through its Police Department, had a policy or custom of unconstitutionally prolonging traffic stops.
Crawford dismissed claims of improper search lodged against Doucette and the BPD, saying those could be continued against the town alone.
Sheahan said the defendants will file a formal response to the remaining allegations, as the suit in U.S. District Court in Rutland moves toward the discovery phase and possible mediation efforts.
The suit stems from an incident on July 11, 2013, when a taxi in which Alexander was riding was stopped in downtown Bennington. Alexander was arrested and later convicted on heroin trafficking charges and sentenced to a 10-year prison term. But on appeal, the Vermont Supreme Court tossed out the results of a search of Alexander’s possessions — including 401 bags of heroin — and vacated his conviction in early 2016.
The state subsequently dismissed the drug charges in Superior Court.
Alexander, 25 at the time of his arrest, was freed in March 2016.
The officers named in the suit are Cpl. Andrew Hunt, who conducted the search, and former Bennington Detective Peter Urbanowicz, who first noticed the taxi while he was off duty. Urbanowicz called Hunt to suggest he check the vehicle — coming from Albany, New York — in connection with a police bulletin about drug sales in town that had followed a similar pattern.
Urbanowicz and Hunt are named for their roles in the stop and search, while Doucette and the department were named for allegedly failing to train officers in proper search techniques. All were entitled to qualified immunity as officers on the search allegations, according to the judge’s decision, because they “did not violate a clearly established constitutional right” during the less than 15 minutes required for the stop and search of Alexander’s belongings.
The U.S. Supreme Court did, however, later further define what would constitute a violation under such circumstances, and the Vermont Supreme Court referred to that decision in reversing the drug trafficking conviction in 2016.
Allegations of discrimination and improper search brought against the chief and his department were dismissed, but illegal search allegations against the town were allowed to continue in part because of a statement Doucette made after the Vermont Supreme Court decision on Alexander’s appeal.
According to Crawford’s decision on the motions, “The Vermont Supreme Court concluded that Corporal Hunt had unconstitutionally prolonged the traffic stop without reasonable suspicion [in its conviction appeal decision]. Chief Doucette then commented [to a reporter] that he still believed the stop to have been lawful and stated that he believed the town did not need to make any adjustments to its policies. This statement supports a possible inference that the town of Bennington maintained a policy or custom of unlawfully prolonging traffic stops without probable cause.”
Concerning the 2013 arrest, police said they had prior knowledge of drug dealers from the Albany area who were coming to Bennington in taxis to make deliveries in the vicinity of a restaurant on Main Street. They said local police also were advised to look for a “heavyset African-American male” nicknamed Sizzle.
Urbanowicz said in police affidavits that he had left work and was in an unmarked car and wearing street clothes while stopped at a traffic light when a cabdriver asked him where a Chinese restaurant was located. The detective said he saw Alexander in the vehicle.
According to court papers, Urbanowicz told Hunt, who was on duty, that it “would probably be a good traffic stop if you could find him doing something wrong.”
According to police affidavits and court papers, Hunt pulled over the cab based on a GPS unit being improperly located on the cab windshield. At one point, Hunt learned from the driver that Alexander had come to Bennington in a cab several times before and the driver thought it odd that Alexander had no destination address but asked to be taken to the restaurant. The driver eventually gave Hunt permission to search the vehicle.
After Alexander initially denied access to search his belongings, Hunt stated that he called for a police drug dog to be brought to the scene, and soon after Alexander agreed to a further search. Police said marijuana and 401 bags of heroin were found.
The Vermont Supreme Court, in its ruling, said the search was improperly expanded beyond the scope of reasonable suspicion when Hunt asked the driver to get out of the cab.
Contacted this week, Bennington Town Manager Stuart Hurd said town officials will wait for a resolution of the suit before commenting.
Lia Ernst, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Vermont, said: “We brought this lawsuit as part of a broader fight against biased policing in Vermont. The case will continue, but this work must also continue in the Statehouse and in the police departments themselves. At a time when the Trump administration is retreating from long-overdue police reforms, it’s critical for states and localities to rein in these unconstitutional and discriminatory practices.”
Ernst said a study of data from 29 Vermont law enforcement agencies showed that Bennington police stop black drivers out of proportion to their share of the driving population and are five times more likely to search black drivers than white drivers — but that searches of black drivers are less likely to result in an arrest.
The attorney said she’s encouraged that “the Legislature is thinking very seriously” about racial profiling and other issues during traffic stops and appears ready “to address these very real problems.”
