A North Carolina woman is suing a city, its police department and its officers for false imprisonment and negligence for an incident she said left her traumatized and bruised.
Ja’Lana Dunlap-Banks also accused Fayetteville Police Officer Ryan Haddock and Detective Amanda Bell of assault and battery. Video of the encounter shows Bell forcefully gripping Dunlap-Banks’ wrist in an effort to pull the woman from the vehicle.
“I really just want to speak up for people who can’t speak up for themselves,” said Dunlap-Banks at a press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 25.
“I just want to make it clear that you have to speak up for yourself. You have to demand respect. Whether they wear a badge or whether they’re just in regular clothes. And if you’re wearing that badge, if you’re wearing a uniform, then you’re supposed to protect us not harm innocent people.”
On Sept. 6, Dunlap-Banks was in an empty lot taking photos of the grounds for a property management company where she works. She paid for garbage pickup on the property and was taking pictures to show her boss.
Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins, who is also named in the federal lawsuit, said the officers were pursuing a fugitive in the area and wanted to check to see if Dunlap-Banks was involved. She was released after the officers identified and cleared her.
Attorney Harry Daniels said the officers treated Dunlap-Banks aggressively because of her skin color.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, Oct. 25, argues that North Carolina is not a “stop and identify” state, so Dunlap-Banks was not required to show proof of identification and had already given officers her full name.
“She wasn’t required to do that. But she did. That wasn’t good enough,” Daniels said at Tuesday’s press conference. “They wanted identification. You know, some people say where I’m from a long time ago, they wanted to slave papers. You need to show who you are.”
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