Harris County settles lawsuit with woman in roadside cavity search

Harris County has agreed to pay nearly $200,000 to settle a lawsuit by a Houston woman subjected to a controversial roadside cavity search in 2015 by sheriff's deputies, according to federal court records.

The settlement comes after Charnesia Corley, 24, filed a federal lawsuit against Harris County, contending her constitutional rights were violated during the late-night search in the driveway of a busy convenience store.

The mid-2015 invasive search, caught on dashcam video, sparked a social media maelstrom as well as withering criticism from government watchdogs and civil rights advocates, as well as apologies from Harris County elected officials.

Two deputies were charged with official oppression after the incident, but the charges were later dismissed.

Robert Soard, the first assistant county attorney, said the settlement came after a lengthy negotiation.

"Certainly, the county is not admitting any liability by paying that amount," Soard said. "But it seemed to be a reasonable thing to do based on what we knew at the time and what we still know."

Documents from Soard's office show county commissioners agreed to pay Corley $185,000 to settle the case, ending the multiyear saga.

While the settlement brought the case to a close, Corley's attorney, Samuel Cammack, said Wednesday that the sum is "an injustice" to his client. He said she deserved far more for her ordeal, but he'd felt backed into a corner during settlement negotiations.

"We felt like it was best thing to do for Ms. Corley. We felt we were about to end up with zero," he said. "We're disgusted with the process and how it all turned out."

Harris County shelled out almost $200,000 to a Houston woman who was subjected to a controversial roadside cavity search back in 2015. Harris County shelled out almost $200,000 to a Houston woman who was subjected to a controversial roadside cavity search back in 2015. Photo: Submitted Photo: Submitted Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Harris County settles lawsuit with woman in roadside cavity search 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The Corley settlement is the second the county approved in recent years related to the conduct of sheriff's employees.

In June 2015, the commissioners court awarded $400,000 to Terry Goodwin, a mentally ill inmate who spent weeks in an isolation cell in the Harris County jail filled with his bodily waste, insects and trays of food. After an investigation, six employees were fired and nearly two dozen jailers and deputies were disciplined for not taking action to address the filthy conditions in Goodwin's cell.

Pct. 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said he would have voted for a larger settlement over Corley's treatment.

"This was an appalling case and I apologize to Ms. Corley for the atrocious treatment she endured, right here in Harris County," said Ellis, who is an attorney. "I do believe that this settlement sends a message that in cases where law enforcement officers are accused of misconduct, the allegations are going to be closely examined and addressed. That kind of behavior is unacceptable and the victims deserve justice."

However, local civil rights activists excoriated the settlement, which they said failed to meaningfully deter future abuses by county law enforcement.

"That settlement did not send a message," said Quanell X, a prominent local civil rights activist. "Why would anyone ever be afraid of a lawsuit when they know they're only going to pay pennies in restitution for such egregious behavior?"

Kandice Webber, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Houston, said county law enforcement officials need to reach out to the county's residents of color and assure them that similar incidents would not happen in the future.

"No amount of money can give Charnesia Corley what those officers took from her, and that was her dignity and respect as a human being," Webber said. "I'm glad she's gotten some justice, even if its just in the form of monetary justice, but (the incident) never should have happened."

ORIGINAL STORY: Two HCSO deputies indicted for roadside cavity search

Corley was pulled over by Harris County sheriff's deputies for allegedly running a stop sign around 10:30 p.m. June 20, 2015, according to her lawsuit. She pulled into a convenience store parking lot off Ella Road in North Houston and began speaking with the deputies.

The deputies believed they smelled marijuana as they were talking to Corley and subsequently searched her car. When they found none in the car, they started to search Corley herself in the parking lot – in plain view and in a "non-sterile environment," according to the lawsuit.

Corley was initially ordered to take off her pants for a strip search, but the deputies later tried to cavity search her. She protested at first but was thrown to the ground and searched anyway, according to the suit.

Corley claimed the deputies searched inside her genitalia and allegedly found 0.2 ounces of marijuana, although the deputies' attorney later said the deputy searching Corley never penetrated her privates. Corley was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and resisting arrest.

Charges against Corley were later dismissed.

Two of the three deputies involved in the search were indicted by a Harris County grand jury on charges of official oppression.

That led to an unusually public fight between the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office, with then-Sheriff Ron Hickman criticizing the decision to charge the deputies as "not based on a review of evidence, but rather ... upon a local news report."

Charges against the two deputies, Ronaldine Pierre and William Strong, were dismissed in August 2017, when Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg presented the case to a second grand jury after new evidence emerged.

The dismissal of their charges and the subsequent release of the video of the search reinvigorated the public's interest in the case.

As the story gained visibility, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez weighed in on the case, saying his administration was "fully committed to ensuring that every resident of our community is treated with dignity and respect," and acknowledging that department policies prohibit deputies from conducting strip searches without a warrant issued by a judge.

St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety and major breaking news for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to st.john.smith@chron.com.

Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan.