FORT WORTH, TEXAS — On September 7, 2012, Ms. Shelia Moore filed a civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court in Fort Worth, Texas alleging Constitutional violations by police officers from the cities of Grand Prairie, Texas and Arlington, Texas. Ms. Moore’s claim arises out her wrongful arrest and imprisonment after Grand Prairie officials issued an arrest warrant against her for felony robbery. Bail for the arrest warrant was set at $50,000. Ms. Moore seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the wrongful conduct. Imagine returning to your place of work after your lunch break only to be wrongfully arrested by three police officers in front of your coworkers. This was the scenario facing Ms. Shelia Moore, a 40 year old African American woman, on April 26, 2012. Arlington Police Department Officer Rodermund began following Ms. Moore’s car as she returned to her place of employment from lunch. When Ms. Moore arrived at her place of employment, Officer Rodermund arrested Ms. Moore in front of her coworkers. The officer told Ms. Moore that an arrest warrant had been issued by Grand Prairie officials alleging Ms. Moore committed robbery, a second degree felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. Ms. Moore insisted that there was a mistake and that she had committed no crimes. Ms. Moore had no prior criminal history. Ms. Moore was of the opinion that Officer Rodermund enjoyed purposefully embarrassing Ms. Moore further by parading her in front of colleagues watching the ordeal. Ms. Moore was taken to the City of Arlington jail. At the jail, an abusive police officer threatened Ms. Moore with solitary confinement when Ms. Moore persisted that she was innocent. Ms. Moore was then subject to a strip search. Although many officers seemed to express doubt that Ms. Moore had committed any crime, Ms. Moore was imprisoned overnight. The next morning, Officers Hinson and Paulson of the Grand Prairie Police Department transferred Ms. Moore into the custody of the Grand Prairie Police Department. Ms. Moore was briefly questioned by Officer Hinson. She was then released without charges. Ms. Moore’s arrest was predicated on the issuance of an arrest warrant by the Grand Prairie Police Department. The warrant alleged that Ms. Moore was chief suspect in the September 28, 2011 robbery of a Grand Prairie woman. After comparing the affidavit for the arrest warrant, police reports, and statements of officers, Ms. Moore is of the opinion that police officers intentionally and maliciously sought her arrest despite the lack of probable cause. Ms. Moore believes that officers pursued her arrest in a rush to judgment based on unreliable statements of criminal witnesses. Inconsistencies lead Ms. Moore to believe that officers made misrepresentations and contrived evidence in order to obtain the warrant. Ms. Moore also believes that officers failed to conduct an adequate investigation because they intended to pin the crime on her. Officers could have simply confirmed her home address or better reviewed video footage of the actual suspect to determine Ms. Moore was not involved in the crime. Ms. Moore expects to be successful in her claim against the cities and officers. The incident has significantly traumatized Ms. Moore and affected her employment stability. She intends to seek damages sufficient to compensate her for her losses and punitive damages to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. ###
