U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank has rejected a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against a Rochester police officer who allegedly walked onto a black homeowner's property looking for a barking dog, referred to the homeowner's race, and joked about shooting him.
Frank referred in his order to the May 25 killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, writing that the Rochester officer's comments were at worst "outright racist" or at best racial stereotypes.
Jason Hively, an attorney for police officer Samuel Higgins, said in an e-mail that Higgins had been disciplined for his comments. But Hively said he was confident the suit ultimately will be dismissed.
Rochester residents Michael Vernio and Kelli Gendron sued Higgins alleging that he violated their Fourth Amendment rights by entering their backyard to investigate a neighbor's complaint about barking dogs.
According to Frank, Higgins went to the backyard where Gendron was sitting. Vernio, who is black, joined them and questioned Higgins' right to walk onto their property. He said the neighbors should have talked to him rather than call police.
Higgins, who was wearing a body camera, suggested they did so because Vernio "is a very loud, boisterous black man."
Frank wrote that Vernio responded that Higgins was a "white man with a gun and I'm afraid," to which Higgins replied, "and you haven't been shot yet."
Vernio gestured to Gendron and said, "I've got a witness, that's why," Frank wrote. He noted that Vernio then laughed.
