Man sues police in South Carolina for holding him naked outside at gunpoint while searching his home

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Jethro DeVane, 71, is suing a South Carolina city saying its police officers violated his civil rights when they ordered him out of his house naked and held him at gunpoint while searching his home.

71-year-old man Jethro DeVane sues police

The 71-year-old is suing the city of Rock Hill for:

• gross negligence
• civil assault and battery
• intentional infliction of emotional distress and outrage,
• false imprisonment
•  abuse of process
• civil conspiracy and state constitutional violations, reports CNN.

Incident with police

On June 3, 2019, DeVane woke up to flashing police lights and looked out the window to check on the disturbance.

Officer Vincent Mentesana allegedly pointed a gun in his direction and demanded he stand outside of the home, despite the fact that he was naked.

Rock Hill police say officers responded to a call from a citizen who witnessed four juveniles inside the car.

The complaint, citing a police report of the incident, says officers searched the field where they last saw the suspects but did not see anyone.

CNN reports:
DeVane did not live near the house where police had been called, according to the complaint. The report cited in the complaint says officers continued the search after they saw four males running. The officers then saw the open door of a house, where they located DeVane, but didn’t find the juveniles.

That particular night, I woke up to a nightmare,” said DeVane during a press conference. “[An officer] had his gun drawn. He said, ‘Come out.’”

DeVane claimed that he thought to close the door and put on some clothes, but he was afraid Mentesana would shoot him. “I did what the man said. He’s got the weapon, I don’t. He could’ve taken my life in a minute,” he said. “I won’t get over it the rest of my life.”

During a news conference, Justin Bamberg, one of DeVane’s attorneys, said DeVane ‘was treated less than human.’

“He was pulled out of his house at 70 years old, completely naked and held at gunpoint. He wasn’t even treated with any ounce of decency,” Bamberg said.

71-year-old man sues police and wants apology

DeVane is seeking a formal apology from Rock Hill’s Mayor John Gettys. Additionally, he is asking that Rock Hill police officers get retrained on “proper searches and seizures, and human decency,” Bamberg said.

His lawsuit comes after his initial complaint against the City of Rock Hill was dismissed. The cops involved in the case were exonerated.