Man says DC police officer humiliated him with invasive body search

A man in Southwest D.C. says a Metropolitan Police Department officer publicly humiliated him by doing an invasive body search during a stop last week.

The man asked not to be identified by FOX 5, but shared video of the encounter shot by a relative. It appears to show an officer repeatedly putting his hand between the man's buttocks. The man pulls away and asks the officer to stop touching him in the sensitive area.

"I felt violated," said the man. "I'm a grown man. I'm a manly man and for you to stick your hand between that region period is uncomfortable for me."

FOX 5 asked D.C. police if the officer's actions violated any department policies or if the officer who conducted the search is being investigated for his actions. The department did not answer those questions, except to say that the man consented to the search.

According to the police report, the officer stopped the man because it appeared he was drinking alcohol in public. He also noted that he spotted what appeared to be small packages near the man's sock, which he thought could be illegal narcotics. The man told the officer he had a small amount of marijuana, which is legal in the District.

The man disputes the officer's reason for the stop, saying the officers pulled up and began questioning he and his friends and asking them if they had any guns.

"They pulled up, hop out the car as they always do and say anybody got any guns? Everybody said no," the man said.

What the man described is known as a jump-out, a tactic police say they no longer use.

The man was not charged as a result of the stop. He has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union and plans to file a citizen complaint against the officer.