Jury To Decide Whether Body Search At Detroit-Windsor Border Was Illegal
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Canadian woman says she was the victim of an illegal body search by a U.S. border officer at the Detroit-Windsor tunnel.
Jurors in Detroit federal court heard closing arguments in the case Tuesday and deliberated for a few hours. They're returning Wednesday.
Leslie Ingratta of Windsor, Ontario, sued two female officers who work for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The 36-year-old says her bare breasts were fondled and her groin was aggressively rubbed outside her clothing by an officer while the other watched.
The government denies the allegations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derri Thomas says the officers wouldn't risk their careers. She says Ingratta's story doesn't "add up."
Ingratta's attorney, David Nacht, says her rights were violated in the 2011 incident. He's asking the jury for up to $100,000, plus punitive damages.
Click here to read the complaint (.pdf format)
According to her lawsuit, Ingratta said she was trying to enter the U.S. to shop, purchase gasoline and visit friends. When she reached the border post, an agent directed her to pull over for a secondary inspection and further questioning.
"Plaintiff answered the officer's questions, but he summarily informed Plaintiff that he could tell she was lying. The officer told her that "you can't even look me in the eye when answering me, which proves you're lying." Plaintiff was ordered to sit down and wait.
Sometime later, Defendants approached Plaintiff and ordered her to come with them to a holding cell. Defendants instructed Plaintiff to remove her coat, and proceeded to search her coat and purse.
Plaintiff asked Defendants why she was being "treated like a criminal." Defendants responded, "there is obviously something or they wouldn't have asked us to search you."
The lawsuit claims the officers further told Ingratta they would strip-search her if necessary, and ordered her to face the wall with her arms and legs spread. After the body search was complete, one of the officers allegedly told Ingratta to "fix herself up," according to the lawsuit.
The officers eventually told Ingratta, who was allegedly crying and shaking after the incident, that she was clear to enter the U.S., but the lawsuit claims she was too traumatized to continue her trip.
The officers are not named in the lawsuit.
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