Pennsylvania Police Settle Lawsuit With Woman Forced to Undergo 'Humiliating' Strip-Search

Pennsylvania police officers have reached a settlement with a woman who says she underwent an unnecessary and humiliating strip-search after she was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. 

According to a lawsuit filed in 2021, Holly Elish was traveling through Bentlyville, Pennsylvania, on her way home from work when she was pulled over by local police officer Brian Rousseau.

When Rousseau pulled Elish over, he quickly asked for consent to search her vehicle, which Elish denied. According to the lawsuit, Rousseau responded that "he had the right to search her vehicle." Soon after, a second police officer arrived on the scene. The two men again asked to search Elish's vehicle, telling her that even more officers would soon arrive.

"Fearing for her safety and knowing that the police did not have justification to search her vehicle yet were insistent and intimidating in attempting to do so, Ms. Elish allowed the vehicle search to occur under duress and coercion," the complaint states.

The officers searched Elish's car but found no sign of drugs, illegal weapons, or other contraband. However, that wasn't enough for the officers to let Elish go. A female police officer—unnamed in the suit—had arrived on the scene, and after having a brief conversation with the other officers began to strip-search Elish.

The officer "began the strip search by physically and visually inspecting Ms. Elish's breasts," according to the complaint. Elish then had "to remove her pants and underwear to her ankles and 'squat' to the ground, during which she bent down to the ground with one knee and performed a visual cavity inspection."

The complaint further states that the female police officer "began to put gloves on her hands stating to Ms. Elish, 'I'm sorry. This is the worst part of my job.'" However, the suit states that, just before physically searching Elish, she asked her "Do you know why they want me to do this?" Elish responded that she didn't know and that she was "simply on her way home from work to pick up her child."

Following this interaction, the female officer refused to search Elish. She was eventually allowed to leave, though Rousseau did later write Elish a citation for driving five miles per hour over the speed limit. That citation was dropped, though, when Rousseau failed to appear at the hearing.

Elish filed a lawsuit against the two male officers in November 2021. After a more than three-year legal battle, including a civil trial, a settlement was reached in the case, though the exact terms of the settlement have not yet been revealed.

"This warrantless search culminated in a minor traffic violation for driving five miles per hour over the posted speed limit, for which Ms. Elish was subsequently found not guilty," the complaint read. "As a direct and proximate cause of this search, Ms. Elish suffered mental anguish, embarrassment, and [humiliation]."