The tiny town of Concord, Ark., is facing a federal civil-rights lawsuit from drivers who say they were pulled over as part of a money making ploy by police.
suit claims that “over a period of several years, literally hundreds of persons were stopped ostensibly for having an ‘improper display of tags’ or ‘no license plate lamp’ or some other pretextual reason solely for the underlying purpose of issuing citations and collecting fines on what were nothing but ‘money making violations.”‘
Attorneys filed the suit on behalf of a man who was stopped in April 2013, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. A judge later declared the traffic stop invalid, finding that a then-town marshal didn’t have the legal authority to do so since he was appointed and not elected as state law requires.
The suit lists hundreds of people who were ticketed by the town marshal and the deputy town marshal — positions that no longer exist — between July 3, 2012, and Sept. 14, 2013, for various minor traffic infractions.
The suit seeks class-action status and wants compensatory and punitive damages for the drivers.
The attorney for Concord says he hasn’t yet been served with the lawsuit and declined to comment on it.
The town has a population of fewer than 200 people.
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