Louisiana Man Files Lawsuit Against Probation Officer After Surveillance Camera Seems to Capture Him Planting Evidence
McKinley Bates III was charged with several drug and weapons felonies and faced 10 years in prison. He spent three months behind bars awaiting trial. However, officials from the Concordia Parish District Attorney reviewed footage of the alleged misconduct, prosecutors later dropped charges Bates. In January 2020, Bates filed a federal lawsuit against Lane Normand, a Louisiana probation and parole officer alleges fabricated damning evidence against him according to Atlanta Black Star.
“It is beyond me how this guy is still working and not arrested because he would have had to do two things to get to this point,” said Eugene Collins, president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the NAACP. “We’ve got the video of him planting drugs; that’s clear. And then he had to perjure himself on the stand. He should be in jail, but he’s still actively somebody’s probation officer. It’s almost unbelievable.”
Normand alleged in his report that he smelled a heavy odor of marijuana and saw Bates stand up, reach into his pockets and toss a clear plastic baggie when officers initially arrived. After he escorted Bates back to his father’s house, Normand said he found marijuana sitting in “plain view” on the picnic table. Normand searched the area where he claimed he saw Bates throw off the baggie the deputy alleged in his report.
Normand wasn’t wearing a body camera, according to Bates’ lawsuit. However, Bates’ father’s home was equipped with surveillance cameras that recorded the officer’s activity in the carport. The footage showed Normand looking through trash cans and other containers while Bates sat at the picnic table handcuffed next to another man.
Video showed Normand fishing through a small white trash bucket in the carport. He pulled several items out of the bucket. Normand allegedly recovered the bag of Xanax from the bucket. Normand removed everything from the top of the washing machine, threw it on the ground and searched through the items.
Normand indicated in his report that the drugs found on the washing machine were “in plain view,” the lawsuit alleges a police officer stood next to the washing machine and the white bucket for 20 to 30 minutes and never saw any narcotics. Bates was charged with possession with intent to distribute schedule IV drugs, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting arrest according to Atlanta Black Star.
“His dad has surveillance cameras around the house, which is a common thing in the country,” Collins said. “So that’s how he was caught. If not for the dad’s cameras, who knows what would’ve happened?”
Normand found mail in Bates’ car with his name on it that was addressed to his father’s house which formed the basis for a search warrant to raid the residence.
Investigators seized guns and money from the home and tacked on a charge against Bates for unlawfully possessing a firearm while being a felon. Bates father protested, telling officers all the guns were his. Bates’ father testified that he kept the weapons locked away and said his son hadn’t lived under his roof for 10 years prior to the 2018 raid. Normand later said that records showed he lived in Baton Rouge.
Bates claims in his lawsuit that Normand and sheriff’s deputy Lt. John Cowan intentionally lied on the affidavit to obtain the search warrant. Cowan was added to the lawsuit as a defendant in an amended version of the complaint.
The DA’s office initially dismissed the guns and drug charges, however, later dropped the resisting arrest charge as well. Bates was released from jail on Jan. 10, 2019.
Normand argued there was probable cause to arrest Bates and search his father’s home. The officer alleged he qualified immunity against civil action in a motion to dismiss the complaint. A federal judge has denied Normand’s motion.
“They tried to get this guy (Bates) in jail,” Collins said. “They were trying to put him away. Fortunately, they were unsuccessful.”
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