TEMPE, AZ — Attorneys for a Chicago police officer have notified the Tempe Police Department about their plans to sue the department.
Jalen Woods and his attorneys have sent a notice of claim, the first step toward a lawsuit, to the city accusing them of malicious prosecution and false arrest for the August 2024 traffic stop on Mill Avenue.
Benjamin Taylor, Woods' attorney, tells the ABC15 Investigators that the department violated Woods’ civil rights. The claim is asking for $1.5 million to settle the matter.
"They picked the wrong person," he said, "They picked an officer who knows his rights, who knows the law."
The Tempe Police Department said in a statement that they strongly deny the allegations in the notice of claim, writing "Mr. Woods was treated no differently than anyone else."
The ABC15 Investigators first reported how Jalen Woods filed multiple complaints with the Tempe Police Department after he believed he was targeted for being Black after he was arrested that night.
The five-page legal demand details the events of that night that led to Woods' arrest.
Woods was driving an expensive sports car, a Dodge Hellcat, at Mill Avenue and 6th Street and made a left-hand turn. According to the police report, an officer wrote:
“While the vehicle was stopped in traffic and continuously revving the engine, the rear tires began to create a squealing noise for approximately 1-2 seconds.”
Woods told ABC15 that the city prosecutor dismissed the case against him last year, saying there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal and do not represent Woods’ police department
The body camera video shared with ABC15 shows Woods at a red light. But there is no audio for the first 30 seconds, as there is a delay in the camera’s audio recording starting.
Several officers wrote in the report that as they went to perform a traffic stop, they could “smell the odor of freshly burnt rubber coming from the vehicle.”
"The camera doesn't lie," said Taylor. “Looking at the [body camera] video, you don't see any chirping in the tires. You don't see any smoke coming from the tires. That's just a justification to try to say we had probable cause to pull him over."
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Taylor tells the ABC15 Investigators that Woods was targeted that night. His attorneys wrote in the legal demand, "they were clearly two young African-American men, with windows rolled down, listening to rap music, in a fancy car."
The notice of claim alleges that officers repeatedly asked Woods if he had guns or jewelry in the car.
"The City of Tempe was stereotyping Officer Woods," said Taylor. "That's just a typical stereotype of a young black male trying to say that he had weapons and guns or jewelry."
The Tempe Police Department said that Woods was taken to the Tempe City Jail where he was booked for exhibition of speed because he did not meet the ‘cite and release’ criteria.
Woods recently spoke with the ABC15 Investigators alongside his attorney.
"I think that day they didn't assume I was the type of person that I was. They didn't assume that I was a police officer. They didn't assume that I was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. I think that they assumed that I had guns and drugs in the car," he said.
Officers also impounded the rental car that night.
On the body camera video, an officer said, “Honestly, I don’t want to tow the car, I have to tow the car because it’s state law, it mandates you to tow it.”
Woods and his attorneys allege in the notice of claim that the rental car should not have been impounded, "state law does not require towing of the vehicle (especially when another driver is present) unless the officer reasonably believes that other individuals are at risk of serious bodily injury or death by 'the person' driving the vehicle."
The claim goes on to say that Woods was in handcuffs for about 40 minutes before the officers took him to jail.
"During his confinement at the jail, Mr. Woods repeatedly requested medical attention telling the officers at the jail that he was having difficulty breathing and getting light-headed and needed to go to the hospital, but no medical attention was provided," the claim said.
In their statement, Tempe Police Department officials say there was no discrimination and no false reports.
The department has finished its internal review of Woods' arrest and said that the officers did nothing wrong. The officers who were involved in his arrest remain with the bike unit.
