Rapper Meek Mill Loses Lawsuit Over 10-Hour Traffic Stop in Philadelphia

The
rapper Meek Mill lost a civil lawsuit over a 10-hour traffic stop
in North Philadelphia in 2012, with a jury deciding his Fourth
Amendment rights were not violated. The jury also read a note that
explained they believed both sides “were in the wrong and made
mistakes.” The note didn’t explain how Mill was in the wrong, but
he was reportedly on probation at the time.

Cops said they stopped Mill’s car because it had tinted windows,
and they said they held him because they smelled marijuana. But the
cops didn’t find any. The New York Post‘s Page Six

reports Mill’s reaction the jury verdict:

“They ain’t from where I’m from,” Mill said softly of
the jury after they reached their decision. “I [don’t] really
expect them to understand what I go through.”

Mill, whose real name is Robert Williams, grew up in North
Philadelphia, where the stop occurred.

“I respect their decision, though,” he said.

One of the officers involved in the stop, Andre Boyer, was fired
last year for lying about another traffic stop; he had more
complaints by residents filed against him than any other cop in
Philadelphia. Mill’s defense attorney describes the claim that cops
smelled marijuana as a “pretext” often used to conduct rogue
searches. Mill was seeking $400,000 in lost income because the
lengthy traffic stop prevented him from making a flight to Atlanta
to promote the debut of his album.

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court,
meanwhile, ruled this week to roll back restrictions on when
cops can search vehicles. Cops no longer need “exigent
circumstances,” for example. Before the ruling, Pennsylvania
residents enjoyed a stricter interpretation of Fourth Amendment
rights than the one used in federal courts.