A Black teen girl, La’Nisha Hemingway, was wrongfully detained by North Myrtle beach police back in May. Shortly after the ordeal, Hemingway filed a civil lawsuit, and she just received a settlement amount suggesting that she got the last laugh.
Officers were looking for a stolen Dodge Challenger on May 3, when Officer Kayla Wallace informed dispatch she was going to conduct a “high-risk” stop on the 18-year-old’s car. Body cam footage shows that after starting the search, Wallace says “Not it,” implying that the vehicle was not the correct car police were looking for.
However, Hemingway is forced backwards at gunpoint and handcuffed anyway in the video. The lawsuit, in which the plaintiff was the City of North Myrtle Beach, stemmed from Hemingway’s claim that her constitutional rights were violated.
The lawsuit was ultimately settled for $250,000 and no other stipulations were included in the agreement.
According to local news outlet WPDE, Hemingway and her attorney shared the news in an emotional press conference last month.
“The police officers around the world are supposed to be here to protect us not cause no one harm or trauma,” Hemingway said.
“The incident with North Myrtle Beach Police Department ruined my life. I’m not the same anymore. Every night I’m up thinking about how my life would have been taken away.”
She also shared that she plans on saving the money and has hopes of opening a salon some time in the future. In the meantime, she plans to support other victims of police brutality.
“I want to help out with the community, Being an advocate. Talking to people, Hemingway continued. “People who went through this and see what have they gone through and what they’ve done to make themselves feel better. I just want to find people out there like me.”