A federal jury has awarded $77,000 to a mechanic falsely arrested by Huntsville police officers after he refused to show identification while fixing a customer’s car in a church parking lot five years ago, his attorney announced Friday.
Roland Edger on Wednesday was awarded $75,000 for pain and suffering and another $2,000 for punitive damages following the 2019 arrest by Huntsville Police Officers Krista McCabe and Cameron Perillat, according to civil rights lawyer Hank Sherrod, who represented the mechanic.
U.S. District Court Judge Liles Burke ruled that McCabe and Perillat falsely arrested Edger and that the Huntsville federal jury would decide the damages owed the mechanic. He also found the City of Huntsville liable since it is the officers’ employer.
“Roland is very glad to close this chapter in his life,” said Sherrod. “Roland never imagined it would take 5 years to get justice, but he is pleased with the judge’s ruling and the jury’s verdict. Justice delayed is better than no justice. Roland hopes this verdict will lead to better practices by police officers.”
Huntsville police said in a statement to WAAY that the department “respects the court’s decision and will incorporate additional training to ensure our practices align with the court’s ruling.”
A customer called Edger in June of 2019 and told him that his wife’s red Toyota Camry had broken down at the church where she worked in Huntsville, according to federal court records.
Edger got there a day or two later, picked up the car key from the church’s front office, examined the car, and concluded that the problem may be with the steering or the tire and left.
He returned with his stepson later that evening, and the church’s security guard called 911 to report “two Hispanic males messing with an employee’s car that was left on the lot,” according to the federal court records.
Officer McCabe showed up about 30 minutes later, according to the court records.
A 40-minute video of the encounter and arrest, which was released by the federal appeals court, began with Officer McCabe approaching Edger as he was jacking up a red Toyota Camry in the parking lot of Progressive Union Missionary Baptist Church on the evening of June 10, 2019. Edger’s stepson was standing nearby.
McCabe began questioning Edger. Edger told McCabe that he was fixing a car for his customer. McCabe then pointed to a black hatchback parked nearby and asked whose car it was. Edger replied that it was his.
This was followed by 30 seconds of silence as the officer watched Edger work on the car, the video showed.
“Alright. Take a break for me real fast and do y’all have driver’s license or IDs on you?” McCabe asked in the video after the period of silence. By that time a second officer, Perilllat, arrived in the parking lot, the judges noted in their opinion.
“I ain’t going to submit to no ID. Listen, you call the lady right now. Listen, I don’t have time for this. I don’t mean to be rude, or ugly, but . . .,” Edger said, as he stood up from working on the car.
“Okay. No, you need to give me your ID or driver’s license,” Officer McCabe said in the video, as Officer Perillat approached Edger from behind.
The bodycam showed Edger run his two hands over his hair in apparent frustration and said “Listen, I don’t want you to run me, uhm, for no good reason.”
“Are you refusing to give me your ID or drivers’ license,” McCabe asked in the footage.
“I am telling you, you call this lady on the phone…,” Edger began saying before the footage showed Officer Perillat grab him from behind and push him onto the car.
As Perrillat handcuffed him, Edger said two times that he would show them his ID.
“You are under arrest,” McCabe said in the footage.
“For what?” Edger asked.
“For obstruction,” McCabe replied.
“I didn’t do nothing,” Edger said as the footage showed McCabe holding him down on the vehicle.
“So if you resist any further, you’ll also get charged with resisting arrest. Do you understand?” McCabe said in the footage.
“Listen, I’ll give you my ID, I’ll tell you what is going on, this is ridiculous, I am trying to get a customer’s car here. I’m in a rush. My shop’s unlocked right now,” Edger said.
Eventually Perillat found the ID after searching Edger’s wallet. In the video, McCabe explained to Edger’s stepson that Edger was going to jail because he obstructed an investigation by refusing to give her his identification.
According to Sherrod, there were two problems with the arrest. First, officers are required to have reasonable suspicion before detaining a person, and McCabe did not see anything criminal to justify seizing Edger. Second, even if the seizure had been legal, under Alabama law, McCabe could not lawfully demand an ID card during a non-traffic stop.
A panel of federal appeals court judges ruled Edger did not have to produce any identification because Alabama’s Stop-and-Identify statute only permits the officer to stop a person in public and “demand of him his name, address and an explanation of his actions,” on a reasonable suspicion of the commission of a crime.
The City of Huntsville charged Edger with “obstructing governmental operations” for refusing to provide identification but later dropped the charge. Edger sued in federal court, alleging false arrest in violation of his civil rights. A federal judge in Huntsville granted the officer’s qualified immunity and dismissed the lawsuit.
On appeal, the federal appellate judges rejected the officers’ argument that they had probable cause to arrest Edger for refusing to produce physical identification and sent the lawsuit back to Burke’s courtroom.
