NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC – La’Nisha Hemingway, a Black teen, was wrongfully detained in North Myrtle Beach while en route to meet friends at the beach when three North Myrtle Beach officers abruptly stopped her, according to The Root News.
Attorney Tyler Bailey from Bailey Law LLC said Hemingway was removed from her car, ordered to walk backward at gunpoint, and then handcuffed. Even after the officers quickly realized they had stopped the wrong vehicle, they continued with the aggressive measures, said the attorney.
Bailey told The Root bodycam footage from the incident reveals an officer stating, “That’s not it,” before pointing a gun toward Hemingway and her vehicle.
The attorney noted, wrote The Root, at no point during the stop did the officers request Hemingway’s license or registration, nor did they ask for her name once she was released. Only several days later, a report of the arrest was made.
The Root reported Hemingway filed a civil lawsuit, and she just received a settlement amount suggesting that she “got the last laugh” —the lawsuit was ultimately settled for $250,000 and no other stipulations were included in the agreement.
“I want to help out with the community, being an advocate. Talking to people,” Hemingway said at a news conference, adding, “I just want to find people out there like me.”
