A Black man is suing Ohio cops for siccing a police dog on him after he was falsely accused of driving a stolen vehicle by a faulty license plate reader. (Photo: body camera)
“They instantly came out with the guns drawn,” Upchurch, who was driving a red Dodge pickup truck, told local media last year.
“They did not come to my car and ask me for license, insurance, etc., anything.”
The stolen license plate number was JLL 7362. The license plate on Upchurch’s truck was JLL 7637. Another example of cops detaining Black people at gunpoint whose license plate numbers did not match the ones allegedly involved in a crime.
Even after Toledo police Officer Adrian Wilson read off Upchurch’s license plate number to a dispatcher who informed him it was not the same number as the one from the stolen car, Wilson called for backup anyway, believing he could find something to arrest the Black man on.
According to the lawsuit:
Toledo Police Department regulations require officers to visually verify whether the license plate of an allegedly stolen car matches the information provided by the FLOCK system. On information and belief, this is because it is commonly known throughout the Toledo Police Department that the FLOCK system is unreliable and often misreads license plates.
Upon seeing the flashing lights of Officer Wilson’s patrol car, Upchurch pulled over to the side of the road near the intersection of Albion and Post. Officer Wilson then failed to visually verify that Upchurch’s license plate number matched the stolen plate reported by the FLOCK system. Instead, he proceeded to take cover behind his patrol car door, pointed his gun toward Upchurch, and ordered Upchurch to turn off his truck and throw his keys out of the vehicle. At no point did Officer Wilson explain to Upchurch why he had been pulled over.
Officer Wilson then contacted dispatch to request backup. On his call to dispatch, he read off the actual license plate number on Upchurch’s truck. At this point, Officer Wilson knew that Upchurch’s truck did not match the report from the FLOCK system, but he proceeded with the stop anyway because “he believed that there was something more to the situation, based on [Upchurch’s] behavior.” On information and belief, the dispatcher also responded to Wilson with information confirming that Upchurch’s truck was not in fact stolen.
After a backup unit arrived, Wilson told the other officers that Upchurch was being noncompliant; however, Wilson made no mention of the fact that Upchurch’s license plate number did not match the stolen car reported by the FLOCK system. The newly arrived officers took over providing cover and pointed their weapons at Upchurch’s truck while Wilson retrieved his K9 partner from his patrol car.
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