(KUTV) BOX ELDER COUNTY - A Utah teen is suing a Box Elder deputy for allegedly telling her to strip down under a false claim of identifying a woman wanted for heroin use.
The alleged victim - 18-year-old Tamsen Reid - said she and four friends were driving to Idaho on I-15 when they were pulled over by Box Elder County Sheriff
Deputy Scott Womack. According to a citation filed, Womack pulled the group over for supposedly speeding, and Reid said he searched the car, and then searched her friends.
Reid says Womack patted down the boys and had the girls pull out their bras to make sure nothing fell out and lift up their shirts.
But Reid says when Womack took their IDs for background checks, he came back saying that she had heroin violations in Arizona, and allegedly told the then 17-year-old girl that she could either agree to a reasonable search or be taken to jail.
"He said I'd have to go down and do the full processing and booking which would take 4 hours or I could just agree to a brief strip search so I did," she told reporters Wednesday.
Womack allegedly took the teen back to the front passenger seat of the patrol car to take off her clothes with the exception of her bra. Reid says he told her he was looking for tattoos or piercings. But then Womack allegedly told her to spread her legs to check for vaginal piercings, and that's when she said she'd rather go to jail.
"This is totally unconstitutional and totally violates the 4th amendment to be free of an unreasonable search," said Reid's attorney Robert Sykes.
A civil lawsuit has been filed against Deputy Womack, Box Elder County Sheriff's office and Box Elder County. Womack no longer works for the Box Elder County Sheriff's office for an unrelated matter.
The alleged victim - 18-year-old Tamsen Reid - said she and four friends were driving to Idaho on I-15 when they were pulled over by Box Elder County Sheriff
Deputy Scott Womack. According to a citation filed, Womack pulled the group over for supposedly speeding, and Reid said he searched the car, and then searched her friends.
Reid says Womack patted down the boys and had the girls pull out their bras to make sure nothing fell out and lift up their shirts.
But Reid says when Womack took their IDs for background checks, he came back saying that she had heroin violations in Arizona, and allegedly told the then 17-year-old girl that she could either agree to a reasonable search or be taken to jail.
"He said I'd have to go down and do the full processing and booking which would take 4 hours or I could just agree to a brief strip search so I did," she told reporters Wednesday.
Womack allegedly took the teen back to the front passenger seat of the patrol car to take off her clothes with the exception of her bra. Reid says he told her he was looking for tattoos or piercings. But then Womack allegedly told her to spread her legs to check for vaginal piercings, and that's when she said she'd rather go to jail.
"This is totally unconstitutional and totally violates the 4th amendment to be free of an unreasonable search," said Reid's attorney Robert Sykes.
A civil lawsuit has been filed against Deputy Womack, Box Elder County Sheriff's office and Box Elder County. Womack no longer works for the Box Elder County Sheriff's office for an unrelated matter.