A pair of lawsuits have been filed against a Missouri cop accused of stealing nude photos from women he stopped for alleged traffic violations.
In the latest suit, filed Friday, a couple identified as Jane and John Doe seek $25,000 for invasion of privacy and emotional distress after a Florissant, Missouri, police officer allegedly took her phone by force after a February 2024 traffic stop for a broken taillight. The woman said she complied after the officer told her she needed to provide proof of insurance on her phone, according to Law & Crime.com.
After she unlocked her device, the officer, identified in court documents by the pseudonym “Joe Smith,” “abruptly” grabbed it without her consent and retreated to his police cruiser, the lawsuit alleges. He remained in his car for 10 minutes before returning the phone. She was not charged for the busted light.
In July, the woman received a visit from FBI agents who asked her to identify a printed, enlarged photograph of a naked woman. She was “shocked” to see the picture was of herself, which was intended for her husband’s eyes only. Agents told her the Florissant officer had saved other nude photos of the woman.
The cop, who has since been fired, was “voyeuristically viewing naked photographs of both her and her husband,” then used his own phone to take pictures of Doe’s photos, the complaint alleges.
A married couple and a minor are the alleged victims in a separate suit leveling similar accusations against the cop. That complaint alleges that “Florissant has received complaints about Officer Smith’s inappropriate behavior in the past and chose to retain him.”
In a statement, the Florissant Police Department said they were “deeply concerned by these allegations and want to assure the community that we take any claim of officer misconduct very seriously. The safety of everyone in our community remains our top priority. We hold our employees to a high standard of integrity and expect them to treat every member of our community with dignity and respect.”
The FBI and the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s office are investigating the officer’s actions. Police say he is the only Florissant officer involved in the alleged crimes.
“Nobody expects this to happen. Nobody should have to go through this to suffer this humiliation,” attorney Rick Voytas said, according to First Alert 4. “It was important to Jane to take this to court because she felt very intimidated.”
