A Rifle woman is crying foul after police searched her home for chickens, turned up some geese in her garage instead and arrested her when she wouldn’t sign a citation that included a $150 fine.

Jo Ann Dodea is suing the city and five police officers in U.S. District Court in Denver for her arrest on May 31, 2012, saying the bust violated her constitutional rights. She also accused officers of groping her during the arrest.

“The city’s view is we didn’t do anything wrong, we are going to defend,” said Tom Rice, whose firm, Senter Goldfarb & Rice, is handling the lawsuit for Rifle and the officers.

Dodea adopted 22 chickens and kept them at her home, ruffling the feathers of a “citizen” who lodged a complaint, said Rifle City Attorney Jim Neu. At the time, the city’s code allowed owners of single-family residences to keep two chickens or two ducks.

The code has since been changed to allow up to 10 chickens or ducks.

Geese were, and continue to be, prohibited. “Apparently, they are mean,” Neu said.

Dodea’s lawsuit claims police ordered her to get rid of the chickens she had on her property by noon, May 30, 2012. Officer Brittany Koley arrived at her door that day and asked if the birds were gone, the suit said.

“No mention was made of any other type of fowl,” according to the suit, filed in federal court Tuesday after being removed from District Court in Garfield County.

Dodea didn’t respond, and Koley told her she wanted to search the property for poultry. “Officer Koley did not see or hear any chickens on the property (indeed, she could not have as there were none),” the suit said.

Koley and Officer Justin Macklin returned with a search warrant for “domestic fowl” the next day when Dodea was not home.

They found no chickens but saw five geese in an unattached garage, according to the suit. “The five geese did not belong to the plaintiff,” according to the suit.

That evening, two officers came to her home, where Dodea was sleeping. Officer Michael Pruitt “told her that his sergeant had instructed him that if plaintiff did not sign the citation, Officer Pruitt was to arrest her.”

Dodea refused, and Pruitt made the collar even though Dodea never indicated she wouldn’t go to court to address the citation, the suit said.

Dodea, who was wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, was handcuffed and then searched. Although she wasn’t wearing a bra, “the officers nonetheless felt under and around her breasts before taking her to the Rifle police station,” the lawsuit said.

Dodea’s boyfriend, Anthony Torres, who owned the geese, also received a citation and paid the $150, leading to dismissal of charges against Dodea, Neu said.

Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dpmcghee