Tennessee officer being sued for forcibly baptizing woman also conducted forced anal cavity search on another person, states lawsuit
A cop in Tennessee, who is being sued for forcibly baptizing a woman, also reportedly conducted an anal cavity search on a motorist at a traffic stop, another lawsuit filed on the same day states. Dashcam footage from the police car shows deputies Jacob Goforth and Daniel Wilkey slamming 41-year-old James Myron Mitchell on the hood of the patrol car, kneeing him in the stomach, repeatedly groping him and pulling his pants as a female companion with him looks on.
Mitchell, at one point, complains of hernia pain as Officer Wilkey grabs his genitals, however, the deputies continue to treat him roughly as he is heard wailing as he is dragged out of the camera frame.
The lawsuit, filed on September 3, states: "Wilkey handcuffed James, and the individual Defendants took James to the front of one of their police vehicles. Wilkey then began to grab James' genitals. When James told Wilkey that James had an untreated and large hernia and that Wilkey's actions were causing James pain, Brewer and Wilkey jerked James' arms high above his back, and slammed James face-down onto the hot engine hood, causing injury to James," the Daily Mail reported.
The incident occurs in the first five minutes of a one hour and thirteen-minute clip shared online by the police department in July, days after the incident. Wilkey, in the footage, appears to be conducting an anal cavity search which lasts around 10 minutes and 55 seconds of the clip. The officer, at one point, appears to punch Mitchell on his rear end and yells: "Hold still!"
According to the suit, the officers "beat James with fists, knees, and feet, slammed James to the ground, and continued their brutalization of James. Wilkey and Brewer then removed James' pants and shoes, while still beating James. Wilkey and Brewer then forced James' face back onto the hot hood of the same police vehicle and continued to jerk his arms high above his back, and beat James. While Brewer continued to force James' face back onto the hot hood of the same police vehicle and jerk his arms high above his back Wilkey donned a set of gloves, pulled down James' underwear, and conducted an anal cavity search of James."
The filing also adds that Mitchell was stopped by the law enforcement officers on false claims of a "window tint violation" and one of the officers said that he could smell marijuana in the car.
The officers said that Mitchell was eventually found to be in possession of a "small bag of marijuana" and 1.6 grams of crack cocaine and his court date was set for July 25. However, the charges against Mitchell were dropped by the Hamilton County District Attorney's office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) after the shocking footage was released.
According to the lawsuit, the incident resulted in "tearing of his anus" and "multiple contusions." Mitchell also said that the rough search aggravated his hernia and he had to go in for surgery later.
The lawsuit comes after a 40-year-old woman, Shandle Riley, had also sued Officer Wilkey and Hamilton County deputy Jacob Goforth for allegedly forcibly baptizing her in February this year. Riley, in her suit, claims that Wilkey "baptized" her in a frigid lake after he "felt the spirit" and "talked to God" during a traffic stop in February this year.