A prostitution sting last summer by Detroit police is at the center of a lawsuit filed on behalf of two 17-year-olds and an 18 year-old who are all from Dearborn.
The lawsuit alleged that police were were trying to lure Johns near a Coney Island restaurant on Warren when the teens appeared to warn a potential customer to stay away. They were arrested.
"Even if they were deterring a potential solicitation case, what's the crime in that and why were they so offended by that?," said Amir Makled, an attorney representing the teens. "There was no crime that was actually committed here. We almost didn't believe the story."
The car the teens were in was seized and towed away. They were then subjected to harassment, an illegal search, and a wild ride in the back of a police cruiser before they were told to get out of the car and walk home, according to the lawsuit.
One of the officers also allegedly posted a picture of one of the teens on social media.
"It was a female officer who said 'I'm going to put this on Snapchat' and wanted to snap one of her friends who
might have known this youngster," Makled said.
Attorneys say the cops drove the teens miles away from their arrest before abandoning them.
"I'm offended as much as I am shocked that a badge of authority was used for that type of conduct," said attorney Nick Hadous, who is also representing the three.
The charges were later dropped. Detroit police declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing the pending litigation.
The attorneys believe their clients were harassed by police for no reason.
"They're high school students. They're college bound. They don't use drugs. There was no drugs found and they put them in a position where look now I feel like a criminal," Makled said.
