The Conway (S.C.) Police Department (Google Maps)
A South Carolina woman is suing her local police department over what she says was an illegal arrest based on a Facebook Marketplace transaction gone wrong.
Jamie Robinson, a 53 year-old woman from Conway, South Carolina, filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Conway, Conway Police Chief Dale Long, officer Jacob Banas, Municipal Judge Kayla Dew Fleming and Municipal Prosecutor John Long for negligence, false arrest, false imprisonment, and violation of civil rights.
Robinson said in her filing that on July 19, 2022, she began a deal with David Butler to purchase an item Butler had listed on Facebook Marketplace. Robinson said when she went to retrieve her purchase, Butler offered her a number of other items for sale. Ultimately, Robinson said she purchased three items from Butler, one of which required disassembly, but declined to purchase several others.
According to the complaint, when Robinson went Back to Butler the next day to retrieve the items, she and Butler negotiated and came to an agreement for the purchase of a pool. After Robinson and Butler agreed on sale terms, Robinson said that a van pulled in to Butler’s residence and three people quickly exited while the man intending to assist made a phone call.
Robinson said that one of the men gave her “bad vibes,” so she left, drove around the corner, and called Butler who, “assured [her] he would handle the situation.”
Robinson said she then decided to go home and was “stressed and confused.” The woman said that over the next several days, she and Butler exchanged texts and Butler “acted in a threatening manner.”
“In shock, afraid, and totally lost for words, plaintiff felt it would be too dangerous to return to the premises,” Robinson asserted.
More from Law&Crime: Appeals court rejects qualified immunity for police officers who let drunk driver go and then charged ‘Good Samaritan’ who performed citizen’s arrest
About a month later, Robinson said she was at a Walmart “to enjoy some family time,” when she received a warning via her private home security camera that police officers were at her residence. After calling the police to find out more information, Robinson was notified that there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest.
A few days later, Robinson turned herself in and said she cooperated with police instructions to wait in the lobby. Robinson was handcuffed and taken via police vehicle to J. Reuben Long Detention Center in North Myrtle Beach.
Robinson said that during the process, which was “the worst experience of [her] life,” she was denied medical care despite alerting police that she had health conditions.
“[T]his is why people die in jails,” Robinson said in her complaint, which detailed that she was “subjected to a small cell with three people no one wearing a mask and people coughing.”
Robinson also noted other details about the holding cell:
Toilet by door with window in it, trash everywhere, blood on walls, floors, and toilet, nowhere to sit except on floor, which was difficult due to medical reasons. Disgusting and very unsanitary. Not even a criminal should endure that.
Conway police had obtained an arrest warrant for Robinson on Aug. 5, 2022, based on Butler’s that Robinson stole a pool filter, pump, and ladder valued at just over $900. According to the police report, Butler said that after his failed deal with Robinson, another buyer went to pick up the pool equipment from Butler’s house. However, when that person arrived, the items were not there, but a person matching Robinson’s description was the only person on the premises.
In response to Butler’s report, police issued an arrest warrant against Robinson for petit larceny. Robinson was ultimately acquitted of the charges.
Robinson, who is representing herself pro se in the lawsuit, raised claims for negligence, negligent supervision, training, and hiring, false arrest and false imprisonment, and violation of her constitutional rights. She asks for unspecified compensatory damages.
Law&Crime reached out to Robinson for comment, but did not receive a response.
You can read the full complaint here.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
