Texas State Trooper Accused of Using One Glove to Conduct a 'Roadside Body Cavity Search' on Two Women
A grand jury in Texas is set to weigh in on a lawsuit filed by two women from Irving who claim they were subjected to an illegal "roadside body cavity search" by a state trooper who didn't even bother using different gloves.
According to the suit, 38-year-old Angel Dobbs and her niece Ashley, 24, were pulled over in July by state trooper David Farrell for allegedly tossing cigarette butts out of their car window.
Farrell suspected the two might have been smoking marijuana, but a search of the car revealed nothing, and Angel passed a roadside sobriety test.
Still, Farrell felt the women were acting "weird," so he called over female trooper Kelley Helleson, and asked her to conduct a body cavity search on the women.
Angel claims that, during the search, Helleson irritated one her anal cysts, which caused her "severe and continuing pain and discomfort." Both complainants also say Helleson never bothered to change latex gloves, and used the same one in both searches.
"This intrusive cavity search occurred on the side of a public freeway illuminated by lights from the police vehicle in full view of the passing public," the lawsuit states. "Moreover, this roadside body cavity search was done without her consent."
Angel says the search left her "overwhelmed with emotion and a feeling of helplessness," and made her feel "violated."
Also named in the suit is Texas Department of Public Safety director Steven McCraw, whom the women allege was award of the troopers' history of "unlawful strip searches, cavity searches and the like."
Dobbs' attorney Scott H. Palmer likened the searches to a "roadside sexual assault," adding that "no one's ever seen the likes of this" and "we can't let them get away with it."
As above, the case is now in the hands of the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, and it will be brought before grand jury in January.