A lawsuit claiming a San Antonio police officer conducted a warrantless vaginal cavity search on a woman in public should be settled for be $205,000, staff at the city's attorney's office has recommended to the City Council.

According to a federal lawsuit, Natalie D. Simms, 40, said she was sitting on a side street waiting for her boyfriend in August 2016 when police arrived and asked to search her and her vehicle, believing she might have illegal drugs.

San Antonio's City Council will vote on whether the settlement will be approved on Thursday according to an official agenda. If it is not approved, the case will proceed to a jury trial.

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Officers were investigating potential drug activity in the area and a detective reportedly said he saw Simms, who has a criminal record, and another woman appear to sell drugs, the San Antonio Express-News reports.

There were five male police officers on the scene, some of whom were searching Simms' car, so a female officer was called to the scene to search her, according to the lawsuit.

Detective Mara Wilson, who is named as a defendant in the suit along with the city of San Antonio, arrived on scene and began searching Simms, according to court documents.

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Wilson then asked Simms to spread her legs and said she would just look, in an exchange captured on a police car's dashboard camera cited in the lawsuit. Simms told the officer that she is on her period.

"She pulled open Natalie's pants and underwear and used her flashlight to look at the area," the lawsuit states. "Officer Wilson chose to reach into Natalie's pants and pull the string attached to a tampon."

Wilson asked Simms if she is wearing a tampon repeatedly, saying, "I just want to make sure that's what it is."

"It's full of blood, right? Why would you do that," Simms asks.

"I don't know. It looked like it had stuff in there," Wilson responds.

Wilson commented that Simms is "very hairy," and then asked her to turn around and spread her legs again.

“Officer Wilson had violated Natalie vaginally, and now it appeared that she might violate Natalie anally,” the suit said. “She was doing so without a warrant, with no medical personnel present, and on a public street in view of several people as well as those passing by.”

Simms protested, asking Wilson if they can go to a police station to complete the search noting that they're in public. The officer said no, adding that "these are all the places that everybody hides stuff, so this is where we have to search."

It's unclear whether the second cavity search happened, but when the ordeal was finished, Simms was allowed to leave in her vehicle.

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"Officers did not find anything illegal, after searching her car and searching her," the lawsuit concludes. "Even though Natalie was allowed to leave the scene, a part of her dignity and self-worth was left behind."

Officials did not find that Wilson violated any city procedures with her search, according to the lawsuit, but Police Chief William P. McManus made a notation in her personnel file in January 2017 to serve as a reference "in the event there (was) a reoccurence of (that) type of action by the officer."

Wilson retired in May 2017 after 32 years of service, according to The Washington Post. Simms filed her lawsuit the following March asking for unspecified damages.

The San Antonio Police Department referred questions to City Attorney Andy Segovia who said in a statement that his office looks for potential resolutions that avoid proceeding to trial.

"We were able to resolve this matter with this proposed settlement and believe it to be in the best interest of all involved," Segovia said.

Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg