A clerical error by a car dealership in Orange County, California, led to a terrifying encounter for an innocent Black man who was held at gunpoint by police after the dealer mistakenly reported his loaner vehicle stolen.
Three years after the distressing incident, Jamie Rodgers has filed a lawsuit against Car Pros Kia of Huntington Beach, claiming they put his life at risk following an overzealous traffic stop on the 73 Freeway in Laguna Niguel, where a dozen Orange County Sheriff’s deputies drew their weapons and threatened to shoot Rodgers if he didn’t follow orders.
“I’m thinking I’m going to get shot. I’m a Black man being pulled over in Orange County. … I’ve heard too many stories of this happening,” Rodgers told the Orange County Register, recalling his heart-pounding experience in June 2021. “I’m thinking, I’m going to be next.”
Rodgers’ action seeks damages for negligence and emotional distress, while claiming, on top of everything else, that Car Pros Kia sold him a lemon.
The troubling mix-up occurred when the dealership loaned Rodgers a company vehicle while his car was being fixed. However, the business later lost track of the man’s contract paperwork and reported the SUV stolen after Rodgers had it for two months.
Adding to the confusion, the dealership also received a bill for unpaid tolls, presumably by Rodgers, leading them to believe the car was indeed stolen.
All the while, a nondescript sheet of paper confirming the loaner car to Rodgers had apparently fallen behind a filing cabinet at the dealership and went undetected for weeks.
The simple yet monumental mistake led to a life-threatening situation for Rodgers, who was unarmed as officers confronted him with high-powered rifles and handguns, ready to shoot.
“I was scared, terrified I was going to die. I’ve never had assault rifles just lined up, pointed at me,” Rodgers said. “My every move is essentially my last.”
The bulletin that police received said Rodgers was considered “armed and dangerous.”
The scene was captured on police dash cam video, which was later provided to local news stations by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The footage shows Rodgers driving the SUV on the 73 toll road before officers put the lights on behind him. Rodgers then pulls over and complies with the traffic stop.
Next, Rodgers is ordered to exit the vehicle, which he does with his hands up.
From there, the heavily armed deputies rush toward Rodgers, and continue to aim their weapons at the innocent man until he is placed in handcuffs.
To Rodgers’ great relief, no shots were fired.
Rodgers, a married father of two young children, said his life flashed before his eyes as the guns pointed toward his back, but he remained calm by focusing on his family. He still admitted to feeling extremely nervous in the heat of the moment, saying he was consumed by thoughts of being potentially executed.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Rodgers told Fox 11 following the unsettling experience. “My heart is pounding. My palms are just, like, dripping sweat. I wanted to see my family again — that’s what’s going through my mind.”
After about 10 minutes, the officers realized the car in question was not stolen and released Rodgers.
Rodgers said he was severely shaken, but thankful to be alive, as these types of encounters with the police often do not end well for Black men.
“This shouldn’t have happened. So it was reckless,” Rodgers said later, mortified by the apparent combination of errors that could have cost him his life. “There was negligence. They are saying that they just misplaced a sheet of paper when they were moving files around.”
During his intense ordeal, Rodgers said he also thought about George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer a year before Rodgers found himself in a likewise scenario.
“It was the one-year anniversary of George Floyd, and that was on my mind,” he said. “I’m thinking ‘God, please let me see my family again. I do not want to be another statistic.'”
His attorney Scott Harlan said his client is experiencing PTSD symptoms that have forced him to resign as an athletic trainer at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, while he is currently exploring a new career in real estate.
“He’s had to reinvent himself,” Harlan told KTLA, while emphasizing that Rodgers could have been killed during the incident if he had made any “unintentional body movement.”
The case is reminiscent of a 2023 incident in which Sacramento police officers pulled over a pregnant Black woman and her 8-year-old son at gunpoint, mistaking the child for a teen wanted for two felonies. Authorities later realized their mistake and ended the ordeal.
Back in February, the Denver suburb of Aurora paid a $1.9 million settlement to a Black family following a 2020 incident where police officers drew their guns on a woman and four minors after mistaking their car for another vehicle that had been stolen.
A video of the group lying on the ground went viral on social media shortly after the incident.
