Following an impromptu stop and search of a bus carrying members of Delaware State University’s women's lacrosse team last month in Georgia, the HBCU announced it will file a formal complaint with the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division, NPR reported.
The stop and search – done by Liberty County deputies – occurred on April 20. According to Liberty County Sheriff William Bowman, the bus was stopped after it had illegally traveled in the left lane. Many of the athletes' bags were searched after a narcotics-sniffing K-9 made an "open-air alert," according to authorities.
In a recording taken by one of the players, Sydney Anderson, one deputy is speaking to the students before the search, telling them that the use of marijuana recreationally is illegal in Georgia. Nothing illegal was found in the bags.
"These students and coaches were not in the proverbial wrong place at the wrong time," Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a letter to the Justice Department. "Not only did the deputies find nothing illegal in the bags; they did not issue a single ticket for the alleged traffic infraction."
Delaware State University President Dr. Tony Allen said the complaint will be made available to the campus community once it is officially filed.
