2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 1 of 11

Pg ID 1

UNITEDSTATESDISTRICTCOURT
EASTERNDISTRICTOFMICHIGAN
SOUTHERNDIVISION

JANCRAWFORDandMICHELLEJAEGER,

Plaintiffs,
v.

CaseNo.2016_____________

Hon._________________________

RYANMcCABEandJOHNDOEOFFICERS13,
intheirindividualcapacities,

Defendants.
____________________________________/

COMPLAINTANDDEMANDFORJURYTRIAL

Plaintiffs JAN CRAWFORD and MICHELLE JAEGER, by and throughtheirattorneys,

GIROUX RATTON PC, state the following for their Complaint against the abovenamed
Defendants:
1.

This is a civil action for money damages brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983

and 1988 and the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution against Defendants
RYANMcCABEandJOHNDOEOFFICERS13intheirrespectiveindividualcapacities.
2.

Thiscourthasjurisdictionpursuantto28U.S.C.1331and1343.

3.

This action likewise asserts a state law claim for intentional infliction of

emotional distress against Defendants RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13, over
whichthisCourthassupplementaljurisdiction.
4.

Venue lies in the Eastern District of Michigan pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391(b).

The events took place within the City of Hazel Park in Oakland County whichislocatedwithin
theSouthernDivisionoftheEasternDistrictofMichigan.

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 2 of 11

5.

Pg ID 2

At all relevant times, Plaintiff JAN CRAWFORD was a citizen of the United

StatesresidingintheCityofBerkleyinOaklandCounty,Michigan.
6.

At all relevant times, Plaintiff MICHELLE JAEGER was a citizen of the United

StatesresidinginShelbyTownshipinMacombCounty,Michigan.
7.

Upon information and belief, Defendants RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE

OFFICERS 13, are citizens of the State ofMichiganandwereatallrelevanttimesemployedas

apoliceofficersfortheHazelParkPoliceDepartment.
8.

On June 5, 2016, at the time of the events alleged in this Complaint, Defendants

RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13, were at all times acting in their respective
individual capacities and within the scope of their employment as police officers employed by
theHazelParkPoliceDepartmentandundercoloroflaw.
FACTUALALLEGATIONS
9.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 5, 2016,MICHELLEJAEGERwas

driving a Chevy Tahoe northbound on I75 north of Eight Mile Road, with ChristopherMattice
ridinginthefrontpassengerseatandJANCRAWFORDridinginthebackseat.
10.

Hazel Park police officer RYAN McCABE pulled the Tahoe over, walked up to

the front passenger side of the vehicle and stated that he pulled the vehicle over because it
changedlanesacrossasolidwhiteline(indicatingnolanechanges)withoutusingaturnsignal.
11.

Officer McCABE asked where they were coming from and front seat passenger

Christopher Mattice (at whose window McCABE was standing) indicated they were coming
fromhisbrothershouseintheareaofStateFairandGreeleyinDetroit.
12.

OfficerMcCABEaskedChristopherMatticetostepoutofthevehicle,askedhim

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 3 of 11

Pg ID 3

if he had anything illegal on his person, and then conducted a search of his person, eventually
locatingasmallbaggieofsuspected cocaineinsidehisrightsockpressedagainsttheinsideofhis
rightankle.
13.

Officer McCABE lacked probable cause to conduct this full body search of Mr.

Mattice, lacked reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot to conduct this purported
Terry frisk or protective pat down search, and the frisk of pat down exceeded what was
necessary for the officer to determine whether Mr. Mattice had weapons to potentially threaten
theofficerssafetyinhispossession.
14.

Officer McCABE or one of the other officers that were on the scene at that time

(i.e.,JOHNDOES1,2or3)handcuffedChristopherMatticeandsecuredhiminapatrolcar.
15.

Officer McCABE then directed Jan Crawford to step out of the back seat of the

vehicleandconductedapatdownsearchofherperson.
16.

In the course ofhissearch ofJanCrawford,OfficerMcCABEdirectedhertolean

over the hood of the vehicle, pull up her shirt and bra, thereby exposing her breasts to those on
thesceneandtothetrafficdrivingbyonI75North,andtoshakeherbreasts.
17.

Hethendirectedhertoshakeherbreastsagain,harder.

18.

Finding no contraband on Ms. Crawford, Officer McCABE then directed

Michelle Jaeger to stepoutofthedriversseatofthevehicleandconductedapatdownsearchof

herperson.
19.

In the course of his search of Michelle Jaeger, Officer McCABE directed her to

pulluphershirtandbraandthenshakeherbreasts.
20.

Officer McCABE permitted MichelleJaegertoturnawayfromthehighwaywhen

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 4 of 11

Pg ID 4

he directed her to expose and shake her breasts,butshewasstillinfullviewofthehighwayand

thepersonsonthescene.
21.

The foregoing strip searches occurred in front of four male Hazel Park Police

Officers, Defendants RYAN McCABE andJOHNDOE OFFICERS13, andrightonthesideof

northboundI75inviewofpassingvehicles.
22.

Further, one or more of the three JOHN DOE OFFICERS video recorded Jan

Crawford and Michelle Jaeger being forced to exposeandshaketheirbreastsontheircellphone

camera(s).
23.

Plaintiffs did not consent to the aforedescribed search of their persons, butrather

felt they seized, not free to leave the scene, and that they had no choice but to submit to the
authorityandcommandsofDefendantRYANMcCABE.
24.

On information and belief, in the course of Christopher Matticesprosecutionfor

cocaine possession, the Oakland County Prosecutors Office has contended that none of the
police vehicles at the scene had their dash cameras on and there is further no body camera
footage of the foregoing events, nor was such any footage provided or disclosed in response to
JanCrawfordandMichelleJaegersFreedomofInformationActrequests.
25.

The conduct of Defendants RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13

wasandremainsextremeandoutrageous,subjectingthemtopunitivedamages.
COUNTI42U.S.C.1983FOURTHAMENDMENTEXCESSIVEFORCERYAN
McCABEANDJOHNDOEOFFICERS13

26.
Plaintiffs repeat each of the preceding Paragraphs allegations as if they were
fullysetforthherein.
27.

At all relevant times, with regard to the abovedescribed incident, Plaintiffs Jan
4

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 5 of 11

Pg ID 5

Crawford and Michelle Jaeger were entitled to all rights, privileges,andimmunitiesaccordedto

freecitizensoftheStateofMichiganandoftheUnitedStates.
28.

Pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution (made

applicable totheStatesvia theFourteenthAmendment),atalltimesrelevant, whilePlaintiffsJan

Crawford and Michelle Jaeger were seized, publicly stripsearched and their exposed breasts
recorded on one or more cell phones on the side of an interstatehighwaybyDefendantsRYAN
McCABE and JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13, they had a right to be free from unreasonable
searchesandseizuresoftheirpersons.
29.

At all times relevant, as police officers acting under color of law, Defendants

RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13 were requiredtoobeythelawsoftheUnited

States, including those laws identified under the Fourth Amendment to the United States
Constitution.
30.

The conduct ofDefendantsRYANMcCABEandJOHNDOEOFFICERS13,as

described above, deprived Plaintiffs Jan Crawford and Michelle Jaeger of their clearly
established rights, privilegesandimmunitiesinviolationoftheFourthAmendmenttotheUnited
StatesConstitution.
31.

Defendant RYAN McCABE had to independently establish reasonable suspicion

to support the Terry frisk or protective pat down search of PlaintiffsJanCrawfordandMichelle

Jaeger and had no specific and articulable reasons for doing so, such thatthefriskviolatedtheir
FourthAmendmentrights.
32.

Defendant RYAN McCABE likewise lacked probable cause to arrest Plaintiffs

Jan Crawford and Michelle Jaeger and they were not contemporaneously subjected to a lawful

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 6 of 11

Pg ID 6

custodial arrest at the time of his search of them (or thereafter for that matter), such that his
searchesofthemwerenotsearchesincidenttoarrest.
33.

Even assuming that Defendant RYAN McCABE was reasonable in conducting a

Terry frisk of PlaintiffsJanCrawford andMichelle Jaeger,hissearchwellexceededthescopeof

such a protective pat down search in directing them to expose and shake their bare breasts in
front of him, JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13, the other persons on the scene, and in view of the
traffic driving by on I75 North, and this conduct was objectively unreasonable and clearly
excessive in light of the circumstances existing at the time and violated Plaintiffs Fourth
Amendmentrights.
34.

Even assuming that Defendant RYAN McCABE was reasonable in conducting a

Terry frisk of Plaintiffs Jan Crawford and Michelle Jaeger, the conduct of Defendant JOHN
DOE OFFICERS 1, 2, and/or 3inrecordingtheirexposedbreastsonone ormorecellphoneson
the side of an interstate highway well exceeded thescopeoftheTerryfrisk,andwasobjectively
unreasonable and clearly excessive in lightofthecircumstancesexistingatthetimeandviolated
PlaintiffsFourthAmendmentrights.
35.

Likewise, even assuming a lawful arrest of Plaintiffs Jan Crawford and Michelle

Jaeger could have been made, Defendant RYAN McCABE forcing them to expose theirbreasts
to public view and shake, and further still, Defendant JOHN DOE OFFICERS 1, 2, and/or 3
videotaping such them doing so, was not reasonably related in scope to the circumstances was
excessively intrusive, unjustified and unreasonable and well exceeded the bounds of what was
permittedundertheFourthAmendment.

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 7 of 11

36.

Pg ID 7

The manner in which the strip searches of Plaintiffs were conducted was

additionally clearly unreasonable, in their being conducted without any meaningful effort to
safeguardtheir privacy by maleofficer(McCABE),withgratuitousobservationandrecordingby
other male officers (JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13), on the sideofaninterstateinviewofpassing
vehicles and the other detained persons on the sceneandthisadditionallyviolatedthePlaintiffs
FourthAmendmentrights.
37.

Further, DefendantsRYANMcCABEandJOHNDOEOFFICERS13wereeach

in closephysicalproximitytoPlaintiffsJanCrawford andMichelleJaegerandoneanother while

the aforedescribed unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons and recording of their
exposed breasts on one or more cell phones occurred and each of their failures to interveneand
protect Plaintiffs Jan Crawford and Michelle Jaeger and stop such unreasonable searches and
seizures of their persons while theyoccurredbeforethemisadditionallyaviolationof42U.S.C.
1983andtheFourthAmendment.
38.

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983, Defendants RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE

OFFICERS 13 are liable for all damages allowed under federal law. To the extent that the
damages allowable and/or recoverable are deemed insufficient to fully compensate Plaintiffs
and/or to punish ordetertheDefendants,thisCourtmustorderadditionaldamagestobeallowed
soastosatisfyanyandallsuchinadequacies.
39.

As a direct and proximate result of the actions and/or omissions of Defendants

RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13, PlaintiffsJanCrawfordandMichelle Jaeger

have each suffered great discomfort embarrassment, mortification, humiliation, degradation and
anguish.

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 8 of 11

40.

Pg ID 8

As a direct and proximateresultofthewillfulviolationofPlaintiffsJanCrawford

and Michelle Jaegers constitutionallyprotected rights by Defendants RYAN McCABE and

JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13, they have each sustained and are entitled to compensation for
consciouspainandsuffering,aswellasforeconomiclossand/ordamages.
41.

The conduct of Defendants RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE OFFICERS 13

wasandremainsextremeandoutrageoussubjectingthemtopunitivedamages.
COUNTIIINTENTIONALINFLICTIONOFEMOTIONALDISTRESS
RYANMcCABEANDJOHNDOEOFFICERS13

42.
Plaintiffs repeat each of the preceding Paragraphs allegations as if they were
fullysetforthherein.
43.

The intentional conduct of Defendants RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE

OFFICERS 13 described earlier in this Complaint, and, more specifically, the strip searches of
Plaintiffs conducted without any meaningful effort to safeguard their privacy by male officer
(McCABE), with gratuitous observation and recording by other male officers (JOHN DOE
OFFICERS 13), on the side of an interstate in view of passing vehicles and the other detained
persons on the scene, was extreme and outrageous and would naturally and probably result in
emotional distress to a person, such asPlaintiffs JanCrawfordandMichelleJaeger,exposedand
subjectedtosuchconduct.
44.

This intentional conduct of Defendants RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE

OFFICERS 13 was unlawful and not undertaken in good faith, but rather, with malice and/or
wantonorrecklessdisregardofthePlaintiffsrights.

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 9 of 11

45.

Pg ID 9

The intentional conduct of Defendants RYAN McCABE and JOHN DOE

OFFICERS 13 to which Plaintiffs were exposed and subjected, as described earlier in this
Complaint, in fact directly and proximately caused severe emotional distress to each of the
Plaintiffs.
46.

The emotional distress suffered by each of the Plaintiffs physically manifested

itselfinsymptomsincluding,butnotlimitedto:
(a)shakinghands
(b)sleeplessness
(c)increasedanxiety
(d)headaches
(e)cryingspells
(f)nausea
(g)nightmares
(h)coldsweats
(i)lossofappetite
(j)dizzinessand
(k) such other injuries and physical manifestations as may appear during the
courseofdiscoveryandtrialinthismatter.

WHEREFORE,Plaintiffrequeststhefollowingrelief:
a. Reasonablemedicalandhospitalexpenses
b. Reasonablecompensationforthepainandsuffering
c. Reasonablecompensationforemotionalandmentaldistress
d. Punitiveandexemplarydamages
e. Reasonableattorneyfees,costsandinterestand

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 10 of 11

Pg ID 10

f. Such other and further relief as appears reasonable and just under the
circumstances and otherwise recoverable pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 and
1988and

g. Such other and further relief as this Honorable Court deems reasonable and
justunderthecircumstances.

Respectfullysubmitted,
GirouxRattonPC

/s/RobertM.Giroux
ROBERTM.GIROUX(P47966)
AttorneysforPlaintiffs
28588NorthwesternHwy.,Ste100
Southfield,MI48034
(248)5318665
robert@girouxratton.com

Dated:September9,2016

10

2:16-cv-13263-RHC-DRG Doc # 1 Filed 09/09/16 Pg 11 of 11

Pg ID 11

JURYDEMAND

Plaintiffs JAN CRAWFORD and MICHELLE JAEGER, by and throughtheirattorneys,

GIROUXRATTONPC,herebydemandaTrialbyJuryinthismatter.
Respectfullysubmitted,
GirouxRattonPC

/s/RobertM.Giroux
ROBERTM.GIROUX(P47966)
AttorneysforPlaintiffs
28588NorthwesternHwy.,Ste100
Southfield,MI48034
(248)5318665
robert@girouxratton.com

Dated:September9,2016

11