CMPD Sued Over Arrest For “Legal” Weed
Police body cam footage shows it was a questionable arrest back in 2023, when officers approached a man and his fiance. They were sitting at a bus stop on South Tryon street in front of the Bojangles where they had just finisihed working for the day.
On the body cam, you can hear the officer say, “You smoking weed?”
And the woman says, “got it at the smoke shop.”
If that’s true, then their “weed” was legal. Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant and the legal hemp buds sold in NC smoke shops smell just like pot when burned, and they can provide essentially the same high as marijuana. Police often have trouble telling the two apart.
In this case, the officer arrested Anthony Lee despite his claims about where the stuff came from. On the video, Lee kept asking why he was arrested, and in the back ground, his fiance is heard screaming at officers. They finally wrestled her to the ground, and hit her repeatedly to get the cuffs on her.
But the District Attorney found no evidence to support the arrests, so he dropped the charges. And one of the officers involved was suspended.
Now, Anthony Lee is suing the city, the two officers involved, and CMPD. The suit claims the arrest was illegal. He’s asking for a jury trial, with the jury to determine the amount of money for damages if they win the case.
No immediate comment from the city.
