Delaware State player's dad says bus search happened because team was predominantly Black
If the charter bus was carrying a Notre Dame team, this never would have happened.
So said Patrick Campanelli, a civil rights attorney in suburban Chicago and father of one of the Delaware State University lacrosse players aboard a bus stopped and searched by Liberty County, Georgia, deputies on April 20.
Emily Campanelli phoned her father as deputies began looking into the bus’s cargo bay with a drug-sniffing dog and then came on board to explain what they were doing.
She handed the phone to the Hornets’ coach, Pamella Jenkins. She was urged by Patrick Campanelli to make sure the players invoke their rights to "remain silent and not answer any questions and also not agree to any searches or seizure," he said.
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"I’ve been a criminal defense lawyer for a real long time and I knew exactly what the officer was doing," Patrick Campanelli said Tuesday. "He was trying to force statements out of people."
That included, Campanelli said, the deputy suggesting the dogs may be detecting certain scents.
"Would they do this if this was a Notre Dame bus?" Campanelli said. "Would a state trooper ever think of going on and trying to accuse people without an inkling of evidentiary support?"
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The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures" without probable cause or a warrant. An illegal traffic stop can also be grounds for a civil suit.
However, the Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that a drug-sniffing dog may be employed outside the vehicle during a routine traffic stop if it does not unreasonably extend the length of the stop. That does not require reasonable suspicion.
Bus driver Tim Jones was told he was pulled over for improperly traveling in the left lane, according to a story in DSU’s student publication The Hornet Newspaper and its website thehornetonline.com.
Jones was not issued a citation and the bus was detained for 30 to 45 minutes, Jenkins said.
In a public statement before TV cameras in which he didn't take questions, Liberty County Sheriff William Bowman said Tuesday that the stop was "part of our commercial intervention detail on the interstate. There were several commercial vehicles stopped that morning, including another where contraband was located."
He added that "an alert was given by the K-9" that permitted deputies to search.
"No personal items on the bus or person were searched," Bowman said, which was contrary to what DSU's coach and players reported. He said the driver was given a warning.
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Patrick Campanelli said the intent of the deputy who boarded the bus was "to try to frighten somebody into saying 'Yeah I have some' or 'She has some.' "
Most, but not all, of the players and coaches on the bus were Black. Emily Campanelli is one of the white players on the team and is graduating this week with a degree in political science. She has interned in the office of U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware.
"We realize that (in) this current environment, even a traffic stop can be alarming to citizens, especially African-Americans," Bowman said. "That’s why we make an effort to have a diverse department and hire people who believe in community policing and respect for all individuals."
However, all deputies on and outside the bus were white in photos and video accompanying thehornetonline.com’s account.
"Why (the deputy) would bring out a dog for a traffic citation goes to the fact that this is an officer who made a decision based on the facts in front of him," Patrick Campanelli said. "And the only facts in front of him are he’s got a Historically Black college with many minorities on the team. I can guarantee he’s not walking that dog if it’s Georgia State or the University of Georgia or Notre Dame.
"It’s an inherent issue here that once again goes to the pretextual stops of minorities."
Bowman, who is Black, said the deputies did not know the predominant racial makeup of the team until after the stop and search began.
"This is how true policing is done and this is what the department stands for under my leadership," Bowman said. "As a veteran, a former Georgia state trooper and the sheriff of this department, I do not exercise racial profiling, allow racial profiling or encourage racial profiling. From what I have gathered I believe that the stop was legal."
He added that the incident is going to be reviewed further.
Follow Kevin Tresolini on Twitter @kevintresolini.