Nationwide — La’Nisha Hemingway, an 18-year-old African American teen from South Carolina, received a $250,000 settlement after a wrongful traffic stop left her traumatized. The incident happened on May 3 in North Myrtle Beach when police mistook her car for a stolen vehicle and detained her at gunpoint.
Bodycam footage revealed that Wallace realized early on that Hemingway’s car wasn’t the stolen one. However, the officers held Hemingway at gunpoint, handcuffed her, and searched her car without verifying her registration.
Hemingway, on her way to meet friends for a pre-graduation celebration, repeatedly asked why she was being stopped and requested to call her mother. She pleaded with officers to check her documents and protested their treatment.
A month later, Hemingway filed a federal lawsuit accusing the officers of false imprisonment, excessive force, and negligence.
The city settled the lawsuit for $250,000, but no further action was taken against the officers, who remain employed. Since the incident, Hemingway has struggled with anxiety, PTSD, and depression, she said during a news conference.
“The police officers around the world are supposed to be here to protect us not cause no one harm or trauma,” Hemingway said. “The incident with North Myrtle Beach Police Department ruined my life. I’m not the same anymore. Every night I’m up thinking about how my life would have been taken away.”
