A significant lawsuit (see below) has been filed on behalf of private investigator David McNeely against the Sparks Police Department (SPD), the City of Sparks, and the investigating officers involved in a high-profile case known as TrackerGate.
The lawsuit claims that the defendants’ violated McNeely’s constitutional rights.
This Complaint alleges that police officers employed by the City of Sparks violated McNeely’s First and Fourth Amendment Constitutional rights to privacy and to be free from unlawful searches and seizures.
Mayor of Reno, Hillary Schieve (Photo: CIty of Reno)
The evidence will establish that the officers were trained to act in precisely the manner they acted and, thus, were trained to do precisely the wrong thing. If the officers had been properly trained in the fundamental principles of search and seizure and safekeeping private information, this incident would not have happened. In short, the officers’ actions were contrary to proper police practices.
Sparks police engaged in deliberate and wrongful conduct and compromised police protocol violating McNeely’s constitutional rights for the purpose of promoting and engaging in a sensational story with a public figure; to wit, Reno City Mayor Hillary Schieve.
The complaint further alleges that the defendants abused administrative subpoenas to illegally obtain information regarding McNeely’s private investigation and tracking of Mayor Schieve and notes that the defendants could not legally obtain a search warrant without probable cause, yet bypassed the constitutional requirements to obtain and disseminate McNeely’s information.
Despite the fact that the detectives concluded that McNeely acted lawfully during his investigation of Mayor Schieve, the complaint charges that the willful, unlawful dissemination of his identity as a private citizen caused irreparable harm to McNeely’s life and livelihood.
Defendants had an obligation to keep anonymous, a private citizen’s identity, specifically, a private individual who engaged in completely lawful conduct and unmasked him anyway.
Each of the Defendants caused, and is responsible for, the unlawful conduct directed towards McNeely. Each of the Defendants by participating in the unlawful conduct, or acting jointly and in concert with others who did, authorized, acquiesced, condoned, and approved the unconstitutional conduct by failing to take action to prevent said unconstitutional conduct which resulted in the financial ruin, humiliation and destruction of McNeely’s life and livelihood.
Defendants engaged in bizarre overzealous investigative overtures and completely trampled on McNeely’s civil liberties to ingratiate themselves with Schieve.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court as a Monell action which allows the SPD, the City of Sparks and the individual officers to be held liable for violating McNeely’s constitutional rights.
At the time of publishing, McNeely’s Attorney Sigal Chattah couldn’t be reached for comment.
Megan Barth is the founding editor of The Nevada Globe. She has written for The Hill, The Washington Times, The Daily Wire, American Thinker, Canada Free Press and The Daily Caller and has appeared frequently on, among others, Headline News CNN, NewsMax TV and One America News Network. When she isn't editing, writing, or talking, you can find her hiking and relaxing in The Sierras.
One thought on “Private Investigator Sues Sparks Police Department for Unlawful Search and Seizure”
Searches for weapons, explosives and stolen property are restricted searches. For example, you cannot search a refrigerator for a stolen car. But the ultimate police power is the so-called drug search. Drug searches are virtually without limit. Therefore, when the TSA demands to X-ray your wallet to search for bombs, pistols and machine guns, that search is 100% forbidden!
December 10, 2022
December 12, 2022
December 22, 2022
Searches for weapons, explosives and stolen property are restricted searches. For example, you cannot search a refrigerator for a stolen car. But the ultimate police power is the so-called drug search. Drug searches are virtually without limit. Therefore, when the TSA demands to X-ray your wallet to search for bombs, pistols and machine guns, that search is 100% forbidden!