DISTRICT COURT OF THE STATE OF RIDGEWAY
COUNTY OF RIDGEWAY
richardm,
-against-
JAMESGARDAI, in his individual
capacity, and Palmer Police Department
Defendant.
Case No. tbd
COMPLAINT
Plaintiff, brings this action for damages against Defendant and alleges as follows:
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
1. This court has original jurisdiction over “all civil and criminal cases or
controversies.” Rid. Const. art. 5, § 4.
2. Venue is proper in this Court as the events giving rise to this Complaint occurred
within the State of Ridgeway.
PARTIES
3. Plaintiff is an individual and a citizen and resident of the State of Ridgeway.
4. Defendant jamesgardai is, upon information and belief, a law enforcement officer
employed by the Palmer Police Department and is sued in his individual capacity
for monetary damages.
5. Defendant Palmer Police Department is a municipal agency of the City of Palmer,
responsible for law enforcement within its jurisdiction. It is sued in its official
capacity for injunctive and declaratory relief.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
6. On or about July 22, 2025, Plaintiff was involved in a traffic incident and was
subsequently stopped by members of the Palmer Police Department.
7. During the traffic stop, Plaintiff was ordered out of his vehicle, placed in
detainment, and issued a citation.
8. While Plaintiff was detained and secured away from his vehicle, Defendant
jamesgardai proceeded to conduct a warrantless search of the of Plaintiff's vehicle.
9. This search was conducted without a warrant, without Plaintiff's consent, and
without any exigent circumstances or other legal justification.
10. At the time of the search, Plaintiff was fully detained and unable to access the
vehicle, meaning he posed no threat to officer safety, nor was there any risk of him
destroying evidence related to the traffic citation.
11. The vehicle was parked safely off the road and was not obstructing traffic or posing
any public hazard that would necessitate a search or inventory of its contents.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION (Deprivation of Rights – Illegal Search - 1 R. Stat. §
3115) (Against Defendant jamesgardai in his Individual Capacity)
12. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs.
13. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as applied to the states
through the Fourteenth Amendment, protects all persons from unreasonable
searches and seizures. A warrantless search is presumptively unreasonable.
14. The warrantless search of Plaintiff's vehicle by Defendant jamesgardai was
unconstitutional and illegal because it did not fall under any recognized exception to
the warrant requirement.
15. Specifically, the search cannot be justified as a “search incident to arrest” because,
per Arizona v. Gant, such a search is only permissible to find weapons the arrestee
might access or to preserve evidence of the crime of arrest. As Plaintiff was already
secured away from his vehicle, this exception does not apply.
16. Defendant’s act, committed under color of law, deprived Plaintiff of his rights,
privileges, and immunities secured by the Constitution, making him liable for
redress pursuant to 1 R. Stat. § 3115.
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION (Municipal Liability for Unconstitutional Policy
or Custom - 1 R. Stat. § 3115) (Against Defendant Palmer Police Department)
17. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs.
18. Upon information and belief, the unconstitutional search conducted by Defendant
jamesgardai was a result of an official policy, practice, or custom of the Defendant
Palmer Police Department.
19. This policy or custom includes, but is not limited to, inadequately training and
supervising its officers regarding the constitutional limits of warrantless vehicle
searches following a traffic stop where the occupant has been secured, thereby
demonstrating a deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of persons like
the Plaintiff.
20. This unconstitutional policy or custom was the moving force behind the violation of
Plaintiff's rights, subjecting the Palmer Police Department to liability under 1 R. Stat.
§ 3115.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, richardm, respectfully requests that this Court enter
judgment in his favor and against Defendants as follows:
a. Against Defendant jamesgardai: Awarding compensatory and punitive
damages in an amount to be determined at trial;
b. Against Defendant Palmer Police Department: Issuing a declaratory
judgment that its policy or custom of conducting such vehicle searches is
unconstitutional;
c. Against Defendant Palmer Police Department: Issuing a permanent
injunction ordering the department to cease its unconstitutional search
practices and to adequately train its officers on the constitutional limits of
vehicle searches;
d. Awarding the costs of this action, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, as
allowed by law; and
e. Granting any and all other relief that this Court deems just and proper.
Respectfully submitted,
Dated: July 23, 2025
/s/0xSyns
0xSyns
