COVINGTON, Ky. — A Covington officer who has worked for the department for nearly 14 years is facing a new lawsuit alleging he violated the constitutional rights of a man during a traffic stop in October.
Doug Ullrich was hired by Covington police in 2011; this is the fifth civil lawsuit filed against him since 2021, federal court records show.
Of those lawsuits, one has been closed, one is in the appeals process and three are still actively moving through court.
This newest lawsuit, filed Wednesday, focuses on allegations being made by Damien Connor. Connor and his attorney, Jamir Davis, hosted a press conference Thursday morning to speak about the allegations and release body camera footage of the arrest.
WATCH: Body cam footage released amid lawsuit against Covington officer
The lawsuit says Connor was on his way to work on I-75 when he was pulled over by police after "actively typing in his phone for directions."
Ullrich stopped Connor for driving while using his phone at around 6:38 p.m., the lawsuit says. Body camera footage released by Davis and his law firm showed the encounter.
The officer requested Connor's license, registration and insurance, which Connor provided without issue, according to the lawsuit. He then went back to his cruiser, ran Connor's information — which returned no prior record or warrants, Davis said — and returned to Connor's vehicle.
Ullrich can be seen in the video approaching Connor's vehicle and immediately asking if Connor has a gun. By this point, other officers have arrived on the side of the highway, body camera footage shows.
"Mr. Connor, without reaching around, do you carry a gun, sir?" Ullrich says.
"What?" Connor responds.
"Do you carry a gun?" Ullrich says.
"What? I'm confused," Connor says.
"Sir, it's a very simple question, do you have a gun?" Ullrich says.
"Sir, I [inaudible] questions, I've got to get to work," Connor says.
"OK, take your seat belt off," Ullrich says.
"For what?" Connor says.
"Take your seat belt off," Ullrich says. "I don't want to have to rip you out of the car and take you to jail, so take your seat belt off."
"What are you taking me to jail for?" Connor says.
"I'm telling you I don't want to, so take your seat belt off," Ullrich says.
Connor asks why he has to get out of his car, telling officers he doesn't understand why he is being asked to step out.
"I don't want to get out of my car, stop, this is against my will," says Connor just before Ullrich announces he's under arrest.
When Connor asks why, Ullrich responds it's because he's resisting arrest.
"Why am I exiting my car, what are we doing?" Connor says as Ullrich begins handcuffing him through the window of the vehicle.
Watch the body camera footage released Thursday by J. Davis Law Firm below:
After Connor is in handcuffs, Ullrich and another officer can be seen pulling Connor through the driver's side window of the car while he verbally protests but does not appear to physically resist.
Ullrich again tells Connor he's under arrest because he refused to get out of his car.
"Why am I getting out of my car for a f—king ticket?" Connor says as the officers continue to pull his upper body out of the car through the window.
Connor then begins telling officers they're hurting him and asks if they can open the car door instead of pulling him through the window.
Connor then asks officers to help him get his seat belt off. Ullrich tells him he's not removing the handcuffs to get him out of the car, so he tells the other officer to cut the seat belt.
As Connor is being walked to a police cruiser, Ullrich again tells him he's being arrested because he refused to get out of his car. Connor then again asks why he had to get out of his car for an offense that would have only been a ticket.
"Because your car stinks like weed," Ullrich says.
Ullrich did not make that allegation at any point earlier during the traffic stop, before Connor was in handcuffs.
After Connor has been detained and put into a police cruiser, Ullrich can be seen returning to Connor's car, where he begins to search his belongings. Inside a backpack in the vehicle, Ullrich finds a black hand gun.
"Oh, look at that, a gun, just like I thought," Ullrich says.
According to the lawsuit, Connor is a legally registered gun owner, and the gun was also registered.
Ullrich adds there are pills in the bag, though the body camera footage does not show whether he finds any pills or what those pills may have been, because of the angle. Ullrich can be seen continuing to search the vehicle after that.
WCPO has also requested the full body camera footage from the Covington Police Department, but the request has not yet been filled.
According to Davis, Connor was taken to the Kenton County jail and left overnight, facing multiple charges for crimes he did not commit. Those charges were all dropped, Davis said.
Davis said there have been multiple lawsuits filed against Ullrich in which he alleged a vehicle during a traffic stop smelled of marijuana and cited that for the reason the vehicle was searched, or a person was arrested.
Of the five civil lawsuits filed against Ullrich since 2021, four claimed that Ullrich searched or arrested them after allegedly smelling marijuana in a car.
In Connor's case, Davis said there could not have been a smell of marijuana in his car because Connor is an employee of a railroad company who undergoes regular drug training and has never failed a drug screen.
"I don't believe that Officer Ullrich should be in the Covington Police Department any longer," said Davis. "His record speaks for itself."
Connor said he has only lived in the Tri-State region for the past year, and the October traffic stop was shocking to him. He said he felt he'd been targeted because of the color of his skin.
"It's inhumane, it shouldn't be this way," said Connor. "And being new here, it makes me not like the area as well."
The lawsuit is demanding a jury trial to resolve things; Davis said he expects the lawsuit with take over a year before a ruling is made.
"The Covington Police Department has yet to be served with any paperwork or receive communication regarding this lawsuit," reads a statement sent to WCPO from the Covington Police Department. "Regardless, it is the agency's policy not to comment on pending litigation against the department."
We reached out to the City of Covington for comment; a city spokesperson sent us a statement that calls the allegations made by Davis and Connor "ridiculous."
"To be clear, the City's only knowledge of this lawsuit is coming from the media," reads the statement. "Having said that, after reviewing all evidence related to this traffic stop, the City intends to use all its resources to strongly defend its officers and its department in court against these false and ridiculous accusations made by attorney Jamir Davis.
"We are confident we will win not only in the court of law but also in the court of public opinion. We encourage Mr. Davis to release the entire footage, not just snippets, and to release all the facts of the case, including the suspect's attempts to hide the presence of a loaded gun and refusal to comply with a lawful directive in accordance with several long-standing US Supreme Court decisions."
Neither the spokesperson nor the city's statement mentioned whether the city or police department has plans to release the full body camera video.
Watch Live:
