Black Man Sues Wisconsin Police Officers Who Detained Him While With White Grandmother

A Black man riding with his white grandmother was ordered to get out of his vehicle and forced to get on his knees by police at gunpoint. He was then arrested and placed in the back of a police car, all because he was Black. Now, he has filed a federal lawsuit against the police officers.

According to WISN, police officers from Wauwatosa, WI only stopped and detained Akil Carter, because he was a Black man in a blue Lexus with his grandmother, Paulette Barr, who is white and was sitting in the passenger seat. Her friend, Sandra Adams, who is also white, was in the driver’s seat navigating the car.

Carter was only 18 years of age when this happened nearly five years ago in September 2018.

The two white women, Barr and Adams testified at the trial on Monday, explaining to the jury of four white women and three white men, that when the police officer’s lights came on behind them they were clueless as to why they were getting pulled over.

The police officer who pulled them over, Officer Patrick Kaine claimed that while in his squad car, another man he referred to as a “tipster” had made a U-turn and pulled over to tell him that there was a robbery going down. He said the man told him that the alleged crime was taking place in a blue Lexus at the next intersection. Kaine admitted that the “tipster” never disclosed how he knew that the alleged crime was happening or how he saw what was supposedly taking place. But stated that this “tipster” seemed “adamant” that the robbery was going down.

Kaine then went to go pull the blue Lexus over.

The police officer then stated it was a “high-risk” traffic stop and called for backup. Dash camera video shows Kaine pulling out his .40 caliber Glock service weapon as he heads toward the car. Another police officer is placing Carter in handcuffs after being instructed to get out of the car with his hands up, to the sidewalk and walk backward toward the police officers.

The officers then proceed to take Carter back to the police car and placed him in the back of the squad car.

After going back to the car Carter was riding in, Kaine is told that he is her grandson. He tells Barr that he was given the wrong information and only apologized for receiving bad information but not for the arrest.

Carter was held for six minutes before they decided to release him, according to the defense attorneys.

Carter’s attorney Joy Bertrand expressed to the jury that the police officers violated Carter’s Fourth Amendment right, the “foundation of this case and freedom.”

Bertrand argued that they had no evidence or proof that a crime was being committed in that blue Lexus.

Carter will be taking the stand in the case as well. He is suing for damages in the civil case as he said he suffered emotional distress and trauma following the traffic stop.