ASHEBORO, N.C. (ACME NEWS) — A jury has found three Randolph County Sheriff’s Office deputies not liable for violating the Fourth Amendment or using excessive force during the 2019 traffic stop and arrest of Ka’Lah Martin.
The case centered on a February 28, 2019, incident in which deputies forcibly removed Martin from her vehicle. Martin’s car, purchased for $600, had multiple mechanical issues, including only one operable door. Court documents stated Martin had to climb through the right rear passenger door to reach the driver’s seat.
Earlier that day, officers in Montgomery County confiscated Martin’s license plate, citing concerns about insurance coverage. Despite the missing plate, Martin continued driving and later that evening a Randolph County deputy initiated a traffic stop for failure to display a registration plate.
According to court documents, Martin slowed to 30 miles per hour, turned on her hazard lights, but passed two exits and traveled 5.7 miles before pulling over at the McDowell Road exit. Martin claimed the fact that it was dark and that the rain was pouring down as the reason for missing the exits and not pulling over earlier.
Once Martin had stopped on the McDowell road exit ramp, Deputies Short, Gabby, and Harrelson approached her car with guns drawn, ordering her to exit. Martin stated she was unable to comply due to her car’s inoperable doors and windows. After unsuccessful attempts to open the doors, deputies broke two windows and pulled Martin out through the driver’s side window and placed her face down on the roadway and into handcuffs.
Martin was charged with Driving with a revoked license, failure to heed to lights or siren, and resisting a public officer, but the charges were later dropped by the district attorney’s office.
In 2021, Martin filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging excessive force in violation of her Fourth Amendment rights. She claimed the deputies’ actions were unjustified and caused minor injuries, including cuts and bruises.
The deputies were previously denied qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects public officials from liability unless their actions violate clearly established constitutional rights. In its ruling, a Circuit Judge noted that, if Martin’s allegations were true, “every reasonable officer would have understood that what he was doing was unlawful, whether by then-existing precedent or by the otherwise obvious illegality of that outrageous conduct,” referring to deputies allegedly breaking her car windows and forcibly pulling her out by her hair and arm.
Following the denial of qualified immunity in July, the case proceeded to a jury trial. After a three-day trial with the jury deliberating through lunch, the eight jurors concluded on November 20 that Deputies Short, Gabby, and Harrelson were not liable for excessive force, assault, or battery.
In an email, Martin’s attorney, Taylor Dant, commented on the challenges faced by her client during the trial and the broader implications of the case. “It was beyond difficult for my client to testify against the officers and Sheriff Seabolt. I am so proud of her for using her voice; it was the first time since 2019 this department was, essentially, forced to address their actions,” she said. “[This] trial showed there are dangerous gaps in the law of immunity for everyone. Post-trial, a rare opportunity exists to try to address those gaps. This is the only case where police and the people can ask the courts to protect all of us. We are going to try to protect everyone with this loss. We hope we are successful.”
The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the verdict. In an emailed statement, Sheriff Gregory Seabolt defended his deputies and criticized the lawsuit. “This lawsuit against our hardworking, dedicated deputies was nothing short of frivolous and meritless. The fact that this complaint made it through the appellate court is concerning to the law enforcement community,” Seabolt wrote. “Our deputies used a reasonable amount of force to affect the arrest based solely on Miss Martin’s actions. Her ethnicity was never a factor considered by the deputies, and the tactics used by her legal counsel to paint our deputies as racists is disgraceful and slanderous.”
Dant has already filed a motion for a new trial and a motion for reconsideration.
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