BENTON —A man is suing an Alexander County police officer, alleging he was mistaken for a drug dealer caught on a surveillance video.
Phillip Osborne filed a complaint on April 16 in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Illinois against Shawn Meyers and Alexander County, alleging false arrest.
The suit states that on April 18, 2018, the plaintiff was arrested and incarcerated by the defendant for allegedly selling an illegal controlled substance. He was held until April 25, 2018 when he was released on bond and the charges were dismissed on Aug. 28, 2018.
Osborne alleges the person Myers observed selling the drugs was not the plaintiff and did not have a similar appearance as the plaintiff.
"Any reasonable person who would compare the likeness of the plaintiff with the person on the surveillance video would conclude that the two were not the same person," the suit states.
Osborne also alleges the defendant did not conduct a diligent inquiry to determine whether the person that had been arrested was the person in the surveillance video.
The plaintiff is seeking damages for emotional distress if more than $25,000, damages for psychological injuries of more than $500,000, punitive damages of more than $150,000, attorneys' fees and other relief deemed fit, as well as a trial by jury. The plaintiff is represented by Darrell Dunham of Darrell Dunham & Associates in Carbondale.
U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Illinois case number 19-cv-426