Court rules against security officers in New Orleans racial profiling case
Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Bilal Hankins in a 2020 racial profiling case, allowing a civil lawsuit to proceed.
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According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana Justice Lab, for whom Hankins is a client, this case follows after, on June 13, 2020, private security officers allegedly drew their firearms on Hankins, a Black man who was a teenager at the time, as well as his friends, while they were reportedly driving around and searching for a lost dog near the corner of Camp Street and Valmont Street.
Hankins, who was driving the vehicle, had talked to the officers regarding the dog shortly before the incident. After speaking, however, the officer, Kevin Wheeler, radioed his fellow officer, Ramon Pierre, for backup. The two then allegedly followed Hankins, pulled him over and pointed their firearms at him.
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The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana had formerly ruled in favor of the officers, arguing that their actions were covered by qualified immunity and that they had not violated Hankins’ constitutional rights by pointing firearms at him. The Fifth Circuit has reversed that decision.
The lawsuit against the officers is now set to go to trial in February.
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