A federal judge has ruled that Ramapo police did have probable cause to pull over a car with four black state parole officers in 2014, and has also tossed dozens of civil rights claims filed against the department.
The parole officers were searching for a parolee when pulled over in Ramapo. They alleged that they were pulled from the vehicle and held at gunpoint by the officers, although dashcam footage appeared to show a conflicting account.
An extensive federal complaint was filed, alleging 30 counts of civil rights violations.
Thursday in court, the judge read a lengthy decision dismissing all claims against the town of Ramapo, the village of Suffern and Rockland County, along with all supervisory personnel, stating that there was probable cause to search the vehicle.
The charges that remain claim one of the responding officers punched a parole officer in the chest, in addition to a second charge that the parole officers were detained for too long -- both of which are denied by officials.
The town of Ramapo claims that state parole officers normally notify local police that they will be in town as a courtesy, but that didn't happen in this case.
If the case is not resolved by further motion, a trial date will be set.