LYNCHBURG, Va. – A North Carolina man is taking legal action after he said Lynchburg police used excessive force during his 2018 arrest.
Larry Booker, of Winston-Salem, filed a $2 million federal lawsuit against the City of Lynchburg, the Lynchburg Police Department, the police chief and three officers, Luke Schartiger, Jonathan Bragg and Nathan Godsie. Booker is also seeking $350,000 for punitive damages.
Recommended Videos
Booker was arrested on July 18, 2018 on several charges, including possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine while in possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, assaulting a police officer, injuring a police animal and driving on a suspended license.
According to the Lynchburg Police Department, officers initiated a traffic stop at 3:23 p.m. for a car at the intersection of 17th and Floyd Streets that they said ran a stop sign.
While officers were writing multiple traffic tickets against Booker, a narcotics K-9 walked around the vehicle and noted the presence of drugs in the car, according to the Lynchburg Police Department.
As officers attempted to detain Booker, they said he resisted them and tried to run away. During their unsuccessful attempts to arrest him, officers issued repeated commands and warnings to him to stop resisting, according to a July 2018 news release from the police department.
During the struggle, police said Booker rolled on top of one of the officers as he continued to resist arrest.
As police continued to try and detain Booker, the officers used their K-9, who bit Booker on the leg. As he continued to resist, he kicked both the K-9 and an officer, according to police.
Booker was transported to the Lynchburg General Hospital, where he received medical care.
Shortly after the arrest, Booker’s family traveled to Lynchburg and held a protest on his behalf demanding justice.
The lawsuit complaint filed on March 17, 2020 details the traffic stop and alleges Booker complied, told the officer he did not have a driver’s license and also said he didn’t give consent to having his car searched when officers asked.
According to Booker’s attorneys, Steven McFadgen and Carlos Hutcherson, Officer Schartiger did a field test on the material he allegedly saw and thought was meth and his field test allegedly yielded positive results, but when later tested by the Department of Forensic Science, the material was determined to not be a drug, and authorities concluded there weren’t any drugs found in Booker’s car.
In the lawsuit, Booker makes several claims of excessive force, conspiracy to violate civil rights, assault and battery, negligence, emotional distress and malicious prosecution.
According to Hutcherson, Booker was sentenced to two years for the gun charge, has served his time and was released in May. He’s on probation for 18 months.
The Lynchburg Police Department told 10 News in a statement: “We are aware of the lawsuit and cannot comment on pending litigation.”
10 News also reached out to the city attorney Walter Erwin but as of Friday evening we had not heard back.
We’ve now updated this story with Erwin’s statement. The city attorney said Monday morning, “I can confirm that the lawsuit was filed and that appropriate steps have been taken to defend the lawsuit. It is not our practice to comment further concerning active lawsuits.”
You can read the full complaint here:
Larry Booker v. City of Lyn... by Ashley Curtis on Scribd