$375,000 Settlement After Federal Court Finds LMPD Violated Black Teen's Fourth Amendment Rights During Traffic Stop

On August 9, 2018, Tae-Ahn Lea was 18 years old and driving in Louisville when LMPD Detective Kevin Crawford and Officer Gabriel Hellard pulled him over for an alleged wide turn. After Lea provided his license and insurance, Crawford removed him from the car against his objections, handcuffed him, and called in a K-9 unit to search the vehicle. Officers found no contraband. The traffic citation was later dismissed in court.

The stop was recorded on video and drew public attention as an example of aggressive policing directed at a young Black man with no apparent legal basis. Lea, represented by Sam Aguiar, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Crawford and Louisville Metro Government.

In September 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Greg Stivers granted summary judgment in Lea's favor on the Fourth Amendment claim. The judge found that Crawford had no legally sufficient reason to suspect Lea of criminal activity and that "nervousness alone is not a sufficient basis on which to articulate reasonable suspicion." The court also rejected the government's argument that a small six-ounce souvenir bat found in the car justified the pat-down, writing that the object did not "objectively support a reasonable belief that Lea was armed."

Crawford resigned from LMPD in 2019 and joined a police department in Jeffersonville, Indiana before the liability ruling came down. The Louisville Metro Police Department's 9th Mobile Division, the unit Crawford operated in, was disbanded in late 2019.

With liability already established by the court, the parties negotiated a resolution on damages. Louisville Metro Government agreed in May 2023 to pay Lea $375,000 to settle the case.