Sometimes the most revealing legal actions involve not the accused criminal but the bystanders caught in law enforcement’s potentially excessive response. On Monday, Terence Crawford’s head of security filed a federal lawsuit against Omaha’s police chief and more than a dozen officers, alleging they violated constitutional rights during a September traffic stop that escalated to drawn weapons despite every occupant being legally armed.
Crawford, an Omaha native and world boxing champion, was stopped early September 28 on suspicion of reckless driving hours after the city celebrated his dominant victory over Canelo Alvarez with a downtown parade. Police ordered Crawford, bodyguard Qasim Shabazz, and two other passengers out of the vehicle at gunpoint.
What distinguishes this lawsuit from typical police conduct cases is the central allegation: officers drew weapons and pointed them at citizens specifically after being informed those citizens were legally carrying firearms. That’s not standard police procedure. That’s what the lawsuit characterizes as constitutional violation.
When legal disclosure becomes trigger for escalation
According to Shabazz and the police report, Shabazz told an approaching officer that he was carrying a legal firearm a requirement of his security job protecting Crawford. Three seconds after this legal disclosure, officers on both the driver’s and passenger sides ordered all occupants out of the vehicle at gunpoint…