WASHINGTON - A Washington D.C. family is suing a MPD officer for participating in a warrantless search of their backyard last year.
Officer Joseph Gupton searched the Deanwood property of Denise Price one week after her 22-year-old son, Jeffrey, was killed in a collision with a police cruiser while on his dirt bike.
Jay Brown, Jeffrey Price's uncle, recorded the May 2018 incident on his cell phone.
In the video, Denise Price can be heard asking Gupton for a warrant while he is on their property. But, the officer fails to produce one to the Price family.
Gupton also declines to tell the family why he walked onto their property.
"From our look at the video, it looks like MPD might have just been going on a fishing expedition," said American Civil Liberties Union DC attorney Michael Perloff.
Perloff and the ACLU helped the Price family file their lawsuit against Gupton and the District of Columbia.
"This lawsuit is really about changing the culture at MPD," Perloff said. "Protecting the rights of community members in wards 7 and 8 and that's really what's driving Ms. Price to file it and driving our litigation in this case."
The lawsuit also seeks unspecified damages, to be determined by the court, in turn for the alleged violation of Denise Price's Fourth Amendment rights that protect her from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Price said she has had issues with her anxiety ever since Gupton searched her property. The lawsuit adds that Price also purchased a landline phone for her home so that she can call her children if police intrude in the future.
"It's just that the trust is gone when it comes to me and police officers," Price said.
She said she believes the type of conduct that MPD displayed primarily happens in communities of color, like Wards 7 and 8. Price said department officers need to change the way they interact with residents east of the river.
"MPD needs to understand that in order for them to be respected, they need to show respect," she said.
The reason behind Gupton's search of the Price family's property remains unclear.
A police spokesperson initially said Gupton thought a suspect ran through the area and had dumped his gun somewhere around the property.
In the ACLU's lawsuit, lawyers claimed Jay Brown had been told by the executive director of MPD's Professional Development Bureau that Gupton had only been looking for an armed suspect.
The ACLU says its lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
An MPD spokesperson said the department was unaware the lawsuit had been filed when pressed for comment Monday evening. However, MPD also said it would decline to discuss pending litigation even if the lawsuit was officially in the courts.
DC Police Union Chairman Stephen Bigelow released the following statement:
"The DC Police Union has reviewed the lawsuit filed by the ACLU in DC Superior Court against Officer Joseph Gupton. We believe the lawsuit to be without merit and we look forward to vigorously defending Officer Gupton against the ACLU's baseless claims. The DC Police Union supports Officer Gupton, a highly decorated 6-year member of the department."