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Racially Profiled, Idaho State Football Players Sue Police

BOISE, Idaho (AP) —Illegally detained, arrested and victims of excessive force, two black Idaho State University football players are suing Idaho and Utah police.

 

Police cars.
Orange County Public Schools, the 10th largest school district in the U.S., voted to establish its own police force in response to safety concerns prompted by the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. (Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Nehemiah McFarlin and Atoatasi Fox, through their Orem, Utah-based attorney, Daniel Steele, filed a civil rights lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Utah.

McFarlin and Fox pulled over at an Interstate 15 exit in Box Elder County, Utah, following a single-car crash on Dec. 14, 2016, in McFarlin's brand new 2017 Chevy Camaro, according to the complaint.

 

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Defendents stand handcuffed together as forty-seven suspects related to sexual gender based violence (SGBV) attend a special session at the Kampala High Court in Kampala, Uganda, on November 12, 2018. - The special court sessions is a part of the regional efforts after the SBGV campaign launched in 2010 in Kampala with the declaration of the establishment of special courts across the country. (Photo by Isaac Kasamani / AFP) (Photo credit should read ISAAC KASAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

 

While McFarlin and Fox were waiting for assistance, two Utah Highway Patrol officers arrived, the complaint says. With weapons drawn, the officers ordered McFarlin and Fox out of the car, searched them, handcuffed them and told them they were under arrest for robbing a bank in Malad, the complaint says.

 

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A picture taken on October 12, 2017 shows police custody rooms at the new Paris Judiciary Police headquarters in Paris. The new building of the Judiciary Police (PJ), aka 'Bastion', will be inaugurated on October 19, 2017 in Paris. / AFP PHOTO / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN (Photo credit should read STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images)

 

While additional Utah and Idaho officers arrived, McFarlin and Fox insisted they were innocent, had alibis and could not have been in Malad at the time of the robbery, according to the complaint.

"Throughout the ordeal, McFarlin and Fox were coerced, berated and threatened, and informed they were going to prison for a very long time," states the complaint.

"Defendants disregarded the information and evidence that McFarlin and Fox offered, and arrested (them) without probable cause," Steele said in the lawsuit.

 

The night sky is lighted up near Ufton N
UFTON NERVET, UNITED KINGDOM: The night sky is lighted up near Ufton Nervet, just off the A4 trunch road, west of Reading as police and rescue units work at the scene of rail derailment, 06 November 2004. A westbound train struck a car on a level crossing killing one person and injuring dozens more. The red lights in the picture are believed to be the crossings hazard lights, in this photo taken more that one mile from the scene. AFP PHOTO / Martyn HAYHOW (Photo credit should read MARTYN HAYHOW/AFP/Getty Images)

 

McFarlin and Fox were denied any communication with family for several hours, according to the lawsuit.

Eventually, "after Oneida County Sheriff (Jeff) Semrad finally listened to and examined a few of the obvious and apparent facts," McFarlin and Fox were released at Oneida County's request at 6 p.m. the following day.

Semrad was unavailable for comment, Steele did not return request for comment, and current Oneida County Sheriff Arnie Jones declined to comment.

 

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A prison guard walks at the penitentiary center of Bourg-en-Bresse, southeastern France, on November 27, 2018. - In the penitentiary center of Bourg-en-Bresse, 'supportive co-prisoners' help to 'appease', when detainees face difficult situations in their lives. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images)

 

McFarlin and Fox played on the ISU football team together in 2016 as 18-year-olds. McFarlin played this season, while Fox's last year with the team was 2017.

McFarlin and Fox are seeking at least $10,000 apiece in damages for the alleged civil rights violations, including illegal search, seizure and arrest based on their race.

 

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