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A three-judge panel of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a Williamsport law enforcement case that a search warrant supported by probable cause or a requirement of immediate action are needed for a strip search outside of prisons or jails.
The court ruling concerned two members of the Lycoming County Narcotics Enforcement Unit who had no warrant, no exigent circumstances or consent to strip search Kyle Beatty of Williamsport on Aug. 31, 2021.
They had searched Beatty twice without finding any weapons or drugs, and he was never charged.
Clinton Gardner, who was a city police officer at the time, and county Det. Calvin Irvin were deemed to be insulated from liability by qualified immunity.
Beatty filed a civil rights suit in U.S. Middle District Court claiming the strip search was unlawful. The story was in the Sun-Gazette.
Pennlive.com updated the case at the appellate court level. Police had probable cause to arrest and search him, but "they went too far by strip-searching him," the court noted.
The appellate court also noted how strip searches can expose strangers to the most intimate parts of the body, which can be humiliating.
Unless the person getting arrested consents, or there are exigent circumstances, police must first get a search warrant backed by probable cause to believe that they will find weapons, contraband or evidence, Pennlive reported.