Corrupt Officers Holding This Teen Cost The Department $165,000

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[00:00:00]On February 25th, 2020, officers with the Myrtle Beach Police Department conducted a felony stop on a vehicle occupied by Sandra, an 18-year-old, and her mother, after their license plate returned as stolen in the National Crime Information Center database. Sandra and her mother had recently picked up a rental car from Transformer Auto Sales, a dealership on Third South, and the plate had been incorrectly left in NCIC as stolen after the dealership owner failed to have it removed following recovery. What should have been a routine administrative correction instead triggered a felony stop at gunpoint and ultimately a federal civil rights lawsuit that would cost Horry County $165,000.

[00:00:39]The interaction that followed was captured on officer body camera.

[00:00:48]Put your hands out the window.

[00:00:53]Roll down your window.

[00:00:56]Put your hands out the window. Turn the car off.

[00:01:27]All right, take your hand and open the door.

[00:01:31]Open the door from the outside.

[00:01:42]When you step out, face away from me.

[00:01:47]I get someone third south and 501 to stop traffic.

[00:01:51]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Get out of the car and turn and face away from me.

[00:01:56]>> Three knots on you.

[00:01:57]>> One at a time. Turn around. Face away from me.

[00:01:59]>> Stay in the car.

[00:02:01]>> I'm still That's not what I'm >> Face away from me. Put your hands in the air with your right hand. Grab the back of your collar and lift your shirt up.

[00:02:11]>> Face away from me.

[00:02:14]and do a full 360.

[00:02:21]>> Okay. Turn around so I can see. Make sure you don't have any weapons.

[00:02:26]>> Okay. So, turn and face away from me.

[00:02:30]Yep. Keep your hands in the air. Face away from me.

[00:02:35]>> Face away.

[00:02:36]>> Away. Yes.

[00:02:40]>> Huh?

[00:02:46]Ma'am, I need you to face the other way and you're going to walk backwards to the sound of my voice with your hands in the air.

[00:02:54]Come back to me.

[00:02:57]Stop.

[00:03:00]Are is anyone else coming?

[00:03:02]>> No, you got to >> huh in the back seat. You got to come to my side.

[00:03:08]>> All right, go ahead. Take two steps to your right and listen to that officer.

[00:03:12]>> Man, take two steps to your right. Keep coming to your right. To your right.

[00:03:16]Keep coming back.

[00:03:33]>> Turn face away from us.

[00:03:47]Oh my god.

[00:03:50]>> What's going on here? This must be a mistake.

[00:03:54]>> Huh?

[00:03:55]>> This is my daughter. She can't drive.

[00:03:57]>> I can't hear you. I can't hear a thing.

[00:04:00]>> No. Call her back, dude.

[00:04:22]Oh my god. What's going on?

[00:04:44]Where is everyone?

[00:04:45]>> I don't know.

[00:04:46]>> Absolutely ridiculous.

[00:04:51]>> Clear.

[00:04:54]>> Station 3 52 to 10. You can lift the radio. We could use one more.

[00:04:59]Copy.

[00:05:00]Lifted on one.

[00:05:03]>> What you just watched is a textbook felony stop. And that procedure has a specific legal foundation. When a license plate returns stolen through NCIC, officers are legally permitted to treat the vehicle as a stolen conveyance until they can confirm otherwise. And that means elevated caution, weapons drawn, and a controlled extraction of all occupants. The Supreme Court addressed the standard for stops of this nature in Terry versus Ohio, establishing that officers need only reasonable suspicion, not probable cause, to conduct an investigative stop, and a confirmed stolen plate hit in a federal database clears that bar without question. The commands here, hands visible, shirtlift, full rotation are consistent with officer safety protocol designed to confirm no concealed weapons before physical contact. Both Sandra and her mother complied immediately and completely throughout every command, and the officers maintained a professional and controlled tone from the moment they stepped out of their vehicles.

[00:05:52]>> 359, you got 368 359 in Mount Hey, unlock your car.

[00:06:23]>> Hey, what's your name?

[00:06:23]>> Sandra.

[00:06:24]>> Sandra. I'm officer Siki with the Murder Beach Police. How old are you, Sandra?

[00:06:27]>> 19.

[00:06:28]>> 19. Okay. So, the reason why this happened how it is is the license plate is coming back stolen. So, we have a certain procedures that we have to go about just in case you guys were bad people or you had weapons in the car just so everyone's safe. And we're in the middle of the road. So, we tried to make it as safe as possible. Okay. Who Who is that to you?

[00:06:43]>> My mom.

[00:06:44]>> Your mom. Okay. You guys from around here?

[00:06:45]>> Mhm.

[00:06:46]>> Where you from?

[00:06:46]>> From Carolina Forest.

[00:06:48]>> Where?

[00:06:48]>> From Carolina Forest.

[00:06:49]>> Oh, Carolina Forest. Okay. What is it?

[00:06:51]Your car or >> And we just got it from the dealer cuz we we we went to the dealer >> and they gave us a rental car.

[00:07:00]>> They gave you the rental car.

[00:07:02]>> The city at 5,000 was >> um I know I know what it looks like. I don't know the name of the location. My mom owes it.

[00:07:10]>> Okay. Did you Is that where you're coming from now?

[00:07:13]>> Cuz we for we came we we went there earlier today to drop off the car and he gave us this rental car to use while >> the other car is being fixed.

[00:07:22]>> Mhm.

[00:07:23]>> We went back because we forgot our our gate pass to our house. So, we went to go pick that back up.

[00:07:29]>> Okay.

[00:07:30]>> 398 is still showing on.

[00:07:37]>> Thank you.

[00:07:41]That would your mom know what it is?

[00:07:43]What the dealership's called? She would.

[00:07:46]>> Okay.

[00:07:46]>> She knows where you're running from me.

[00:07:48]>> And that's where you guys were coming from right there.

[00:07:50]>> Okay. Yeah. So, I don't know. It says it was the license plate stolen. So, not the car, but >> I hire that back. It is not currently registered to South Carolina. Um, really weird >> plate was going to be entered on 17 of >> stolen stolen from the dealership.

[00:08:27]>> They just picked up the rental car today. So, they got this car and license plate from a rental company.

[00:08:32]>> Yeah.

[00:08:33]>> I mean, it's happened to me.

[00:08:34]>> Yeah. I mean, it's just >> She said they literally picked up a couple hours.

[00:08:38]>> That's what she's saying, too. And that's where they're coming from right now. What's your name again? S. You said Sandra, right?

[00:08:44]>> S A N D R A.

[00:08:45]>> And what's your last name?

[00:08:46]>> Atala. Huh?

[00:08:48]>> How do you spell that? A T A L.

[00:08:52]>> Like that? Mhm.

[00:08:53]>> Okay. And what's your date of birth?

[00:08:55]Just give us one second and we'll uh we'll get you out of those. Okay. And if you have any other questions, I can answer them for you.

[00:09:09]>> You're not driving that car. I'll tell you that.

[00:09:11]>> Okay. Okay. Can I >> NCIC?

[00:09:15]It says it's stolen from 921 Third South, the dealership. Uh the plate was taken from the dealership. Um so I don't know if he like got his plate back or And so my thing is what I think happened is he gave a rental car out. People didn't return the car or whatever and he reported it stolen. Then he got it back and he never called us back to say that he got it back.

[00:09:39]>> I mean the rental company never >> the rental company who reported it never called back to get it out of NCIC. cuz that's happened.

[00:09:45]>> I mean, yeah, all the time.

[00:09:46]>> Yeah.

[00:09:47]>> I mean, I >> There's no doubt in my mind that they had any knowledge that this was stolen.

[00:09:53]>> This moment matters because of what Officer Speaker said out loud on camera.

[00:09:57]There's no doubt in my mind that they had any knowledge that this was stolen.

[00:10:01]That is not a throwaway line. Under the Fourth Amendment, a seizure is only lawful if it remains justified as facts develop. The Supreme Court held in Illinois versus Cabales decided in 2005.

[00:10:12]Then a lawful stop does law automatically justify extended detention once the original suspicion dissolves.

[00:10:18]The stolen plate hit was the legal basis for this stop. And the moment officer speaker concluded these women were innocent, the clock started. Continued detention past that point needed to be tied to a specific and articulable purpose. In this case, verifying the plate status and contacting Transformer Auto Sales, not simply holding them while officers sorted out an administrative error made by a third party. The officer's cander here is notable. He could have said nothing. He chose to be transparent, and that transparency will matter when we reach the verdict.

[00:10:47]>> They said they just came from from there, so I'm guessing 921.

[00:10:51]>> Who is it? Who's third South? I don't know. She She said she might know. Does she know what dealership it is?

[00:10:56]>> Hey, what dealership was it again?

[00:10:58]>> What car do you have? She's It's on Third South. I looked it up. It's like 929. Do you remember the name of the dealership?

[00:11:03]>> Um, no. I don't remember.

[00:11:04]>> It's right over here though, right?

[00:11:07]>> Um, it's >> Who' you deal with there? You know their name?

[00:11:10]>> It's in my car.

[00:11:11]>> It's in your car.

[00:11:12]>> Yeah. The dealer.

[00:11:14]>> Okay.

[00:11:14]>> I was trying the car. That's it.

[00:11:16]>> Yeah. So, they were She was thinking about buying it. They gave her the plate and everything to try it out.

[00:11:21]>> What I think happened is he the rental company or whatever gave this car out prior. Someone didn't return it on time.

[00:11:27]He reported it stolen and then when he got it back, he never called us to get back on.

[00:11:31]>> Jesus Christ.

[00:11:32]>> Somebody had the deal for >> Is my daughter okay?

[00:11:35]>> Yeah, she I just calmed her down. She's panicking.

[00:11:37]>> Yeah. No, no. I just talked to her.

[00:11:38]She's all good. I explained everything to her.

[00:11:40]>> So, we're going to give us one second.

[00:11:41]We're going to get you out of those and get you on your way. Where where is your car? Is it at the dealership?

[00:11:47]>> Yes. At 9:21.

[00:11:48]>> You don't know the name of the dealership, though?

[00:11:50]>> No, I don't.

[00:11:50]>> All right. We'll look it up and we're going to make contact with them, okay?

[00:11:53]To make sure that everything >> Am I going to jail now or what's going to happen?

[00:11:56]>> No. No. Like I said, the only reason you're in handcuffs and why we had guns out and everything like that is because it it >> it's like it's coming back or something.

[00:12:03]>> No, no, no. The car the license plate's coming back stolen. So, we have a certain way we have to go about things when cars come back stolen and stuff like that.

[00:12:10]>> Mhm.

[00:12:10]>> So, just so everyone's safe and we're in the middle of the road. So, but give us one second. We're going to go check on some things and we'll get you out of those. Okay.

[00:12:18]>> 321.

[00:12:19]>> Um, do you want to drive down there?

[00:12:21]>> What is it? 9 >> 921 Third South.

[00:12:25]>> Just trying to make sure. You said I can clear this call. IR. I don't see any notes. Is this going to be anformational?

[00:12:40]>> 155.

[00:12:53]Do >> you guys have any questions about anything?

[00:13:00]>> That's the dealer.

[00:13:02]>> You're the >> That's him.

[00:13:05]>> What's going on, man?

[00:13:06]>> Yeah. What's up?

[00:13:07]>> You reported your tag stolen?

[00:13:09]>> Yeah, but I called and I reported not stolen.

[00:13:12]>> I They didn't take it out, >> man. I did. Yeah, I reported, but I called again. I have the case number and I called the police. I told him, "We found the tag. I got possession of this car." He's like, "Okay, don't worry about it. I got it." He I told him, "Do you need to do anything?" He's like, "No, don't worry about it." I swear.

[00:13:28]>> Oh, I I believe you. That's what I thought. That's what I thought happened.

[00:13:31]I just So, for some reason, it didn't get taken out. So, when it's driving through the city, it's hitting off all of our sensors saying that it's still >> That's when I when I heard that she's out, I'm like, "That's it." Because I called Yes, we we lost the tag >> and I That's why I'm here because I know that I reported and I took it. So, we we actually sent an officer down to go talk to you, but it's even better that you're here now.

[00:13:50]>> Yeah.

[00:13:50]>> Um, >> the dealership owner's arrival changes the legal picture completely and immediately. He provides exactly what officers needed, a named party, a case number, and a firstirhand account of the NCIC entry being an administrative failure, not an act of theft. At this point, the stop has served its purpose.

[00:14:07]The Supreme Court held in Rodriguez versus United States decided in 2015 that the tolerable duration of a police stop is determined by the seizures mission. And authority for the seizure ends when that mission is accomplished or its justification falls away. The mission here was to investigate a stolen plate. The plate's innocent origin was now confirmed by two independent sources. Sandre's account and the owner of Transformer Auto Sales standing right there on the scene. Sandre and her mother were still in handcuffs at this point. Every second of continued restraint past this confirmation needed its own justification and the footage does not show one being articulated.

[00:14:41]>> 341.

[00:14:42]>> He's coming back.

[00:14:43]>> You want my license?

[00:14:43]>> Yeah, if you have your license real quick and then we'll get you guys out of here. Um >> yeah, thank you for the >> I'll make sure they take it out cuz I mean >> Yeah, please. Because I know I got the case number and I cancelled it and all this.

[00:14:57]>> All right. Give me one second, my man.

[00:14:58]All right.

[00:15:09]Is that SGE?

[00:15:12]>> Hey, Sarge.

[00:15:13]>> Hey, I have the dealer out here. He's saying he has the case number. He called in and told someone to take it out of NCI, so he said he got it back. So, he doesn't know why it's still stolen.

[00:15:25]>> What agency.

[00:15:26]>> It's I'm pretty sure it's out of cuz it's 921 Third Self. County jurisdiction public.

[00:15:32]>> Oh, so it's I mean I guess out of county. Well, which would make sense.

[00:15:35]>> It's one of countyy's pocket holes in the city.

[00:15:38]>> Okay. Um we'll have to take the tag until they can get it removed unless county wants to come out and say yes. You know, we didn't remove it, but if it's still listed in CI, we have to take it and hold it at least.

[00:15:53]>> All right. Hold on. So going to confirm with dispatch station 385. Is this stolen out of county or us?

[00:16:06]Okay.

[00:16:11]>> I'm out here with the uh gentleman who reported it stolen. He's saying he contacted county and told them that he got his license plate back. So, it shouldn't be an NCIC. If you could advise county or see if they could have someone respond.

[00:16:24]>> You just copy what you just said.

[00:16:27]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:16:28]If we can work it out, like county says no, it's okay, then we can give them the tag back. If county comes back, says no, it's still listed.

[00:16:39]It's stolen, we'll take it. Hold on.

[00:16:41]They're going to, you know, just >> What about the car?

[00:16:49]>> Can we give him the car? It's his car.

[00:16:52]>> Hey, he can have the car, right? The car's clear.

[00:16:55]>> Yeah, it's just the tag.

[00:16:58]All right. So, we just might be a couple more minutes. So, here's where we're at.

[00:17:01]It's stolen out of county. I guess your your business is in county's jurisdiction, not our jurisdiction. So, we're calling over to county seeing why they didn't take it out or whatnot. Um, the only thing is if they didn't take it out, we're going to have to take the tag until they confirm it. So, we'll take the tag, but we'll give you the vehicle and you can bring it back over to your >> Let's do that. Can I park it here?

[00:17:19]>> Yeah, just give once we confirm with county, I'll let you move it all and then we'll I'll get out of the middle middle of the road here.

[00:17:23]>> Can I get my phone from there?

[00:17:25]>> Yeah, we'll let you get everything out of it. Just give us one second. All right.

[00:17:28]>> Uh, so they're going to confirm if it's took off or not.

[00:17:33]>> Cuz you said you called them and told them.

[00:17:34]>> So I don't know why they didn't take it out. So that's it. It it was reported through Ory County, not through Myrtle Beach. So I don't know why they haven't taken out of NCIC.

[00:17:41]>> And that's like the big confusion here.

[00:17:44]>> So what's going to happen? You're going to take the tag >> only if they haven't taken it out and they confirm it. We have to take the tag for evidence and then you'll have to come up to the PD when county clears it and you can grab it from there.

[00:17:56]>> What about from you?

[00:17:57]>> Yep. Right up here.

[00:17:58]>> Um but the car the car is clear. The car comes back to you. So >> I have no problem with you taking the car and driving it back down there.

[00:18:05]>> I can park it here. Get another tag and take my current.

[00:18:08]>> But if they clean it, she can uh it'll be clear to go right with the tag.

[00:18:12]>> Yeah. I mean it's going to be clear either way. It's just going to be whether we have to take the tag or not.

[00:18:21]Where's Hey, where's your shop at?

[00:18:23]>> Down after the light on the right hand side.

[00:18:25]>> Is it H? Like right by Hammond, right?

[00:18:27]>> Next to Harris.

[00:18:28]>> Where's your brother's up?

[00:18:30]>> Up there.

[00:18:31]>> Whose car? Whose tag is that?

[00:18:34]>> My brother.

[00:18:35]>> Your brother's tags on that car?

[00:18:37]>> Yes.

[00:18:40]>> You serious?

[00:18:42]>> No, because you have a jacket or anything in the car?

[00:18:44]>> I car when I hear >> It's cold out. That car had a paper.

[00:19:05]No. No. For for them it's normal to be risky.

[00:19:08]>> They should have they should have a record of me calling there again, right?

[00:19:12]>> And that's what that's what we have to call over there cuz they go off two different systems. So like they're it's kind of like you and your brother shop at two different uh two different businesses. So we have to see why why they didn't take it out because when they don't take it out stuff like this happens all the time.

[00:19:28]>> You explain to him about the car and the tag on.

[00:19:31]>> Yeah. So he's he said he's going to park it over here whether with if we have to take the tag and he'll go get another dealer tag and drive it back to his shop after. Um, pretty much I don't know what county is doing, but they left it into the database saying that it's still stolen.

[00:19:45]>> Yeah.

[00:19:46]>> Until until we get it confirmed from them, unfortunately, legally, we can't give it to you back. We can give you the car. You can get the tag >> and then I will deal with it. U Where's your >> until it's clear?

[00:19:56]>> Mhm.

[00:19:57]>> Are we going to wait until it's cleared?

[00:19:59]>> Yeah.

[00:20:01]>> Do you guys have a ride to go somewhere?

[00:20:05]>> Where's Where uh >> Huh?

[00:20:07]>> Where's your actual car? My car is there >> at the dealership.

[00:20:10]>> You can go just give him a ride. Yeah, cuz technically I'm going to be >> What this segment shows is officers doing the right thing bureaucratically while moving slowly on the human side of it. The decision to hold the plate pending county confirmation is procedurally defensible. They cannot simply remove an NCIC entry on their own authority and acting on unconfirmed information could create liability in the other direction. But Sandra is 18 years old. She is in handcuffs in the middle of a road. And the legal basis for her personal detention had already collapsed well before this sequence began. The Fourth Amendment's protections, as the Supreme Court reaffirmed in Brendland versus California in 2007, apply to every occupant of a stopped vehicle, not just the driver and not just the registered owner. Sandra was a passenger with no connection to any wrongdoing whatsoever.

[00:21:03]Her continued restraint while officers sorted out a county level database error is the part of this stop that deserves the closest scrutiny. And as we will see in the verdict, a federal court agreed.

[00:21:14]>> Unless unless county, >> like I was just saying, we're still waiting to hear back from >> So if you want to hang tight, then that's fine.

[00:21:21]>> Yeah.

[00:21:24]>> You have another tag?

[00:21:26]>> Yeah.

[00:21:28]>> You want to go grab it >> just in case have this one?

[00:21:31]>> Yeah.

[00:21:31]>> Yeah, >> cuz we'll be here. Yes, I'll be right back.

[00:21:33]>> All right. Um, do you uh do you mind giving them a ride back to the shop?

[00:21:38]>> Yeah, they can come.

[00:21:39]>> You just need your phone?

[00:21:40]>> What else do you know?

[00:21:41]>> Yeah.

[00:21:42]>> All right.

[00:21:52]It happens. It happens. But we have to do some things. We can't do it.

[00:22:01]Are these hers too?

[00:22:03]>> Hers?

[00:22:05]>> Hey, you got both their info, right?

[00:22:07]>> Yeah.

[00:22:07]>> Okay.

[00:22:09]>> I lost my key.

[00:22:11]>> You're good. You're good. You can look through it.

[00:22:14]Lost the other part of the key.

[00:22:20]>> Sandra, >> is it right on your foot there?

[00:22:23]>> Huh?

[00:22:23]>> Right there. That >> No. Uh, it's the the the gate to the the house. Okay.

[00:22:30]>> The stop ends without arrest, without injury, and without a single harsh word exchanged, and that counts for something. But ending well does not erase what happened in the middle.

[00:22:39]Sanders spent roughly 22 minutes detained on a public road. A portion of that time in handcuffs because Transformer Auto Sales failed to ensure its stolen plate report was removed from the federal database after the plate was recovered. She did nothing wrong. Her mother did nothing wrong. The system failed them. and they bore the physical and emotional cost of that failure. A cost that a federal court would later put a dollar figure on. Officer Speaker earns a B. His handling of Sandra and her mother from the moment he first spoke to them was measured, respectful, and transparent in a way that is genuinely uncommon in felony stop footage. He explained the procedure. He acknowledged their innocence out loud on camera. He kept his tone calm throughout, and he worked the problem methodically when the dealership owner arrived. The felony stop protocol at the outset was legally justified. A confirmed NCIC stolen paint hit satisfies the reasonable suspicion standard established in Terry versus Ohio. And no court would fault the initial approach. Where officer speaker loses a grade point is the gap between his verbal acknowledgement that these women had no knowledge of any theft and the moment they were actually released from physical restraint. The law required him to move faster once the justification for continued detention dissolved. His intentions appeared good throughout, but good intentions do not substitute for prompt action when someone's liberty is at stake. The Myrtle Beach Police Department's procedures earnest see. The felony stop protocol itself is legally sound and appropriate given the information officers had at dispatch. The problem is structural. There is no clear procedure visible in this footage for what an officer should do when a detained party's innocence becomes obvious midstop, but a bureaucratic confirmation loop still needs to close. Sandra stayed in handcuffs while officers navigated jurisdiction questions between city and county systems. A department with better protocols would have a faster pathway to releasing the people while continuing to resolve the paperwork because those are two separate problems that do not need to happen on the same timeline. The Supreme Court made clear in Rodriguez versus United States that a stop's duration must be tied to its mission, and holding a confirmed innocent 18-year-old in restraints while two police agencies sort out a database discrepancy is not what that mission requires. Sandra and her mother earn an A. They complied with every command immediately and completely from the first moment officers approached their vehicle. in a felony stop with weapons drawn. That level of calm and cooperation is not easy, and it almost certainly kept a stressful situation from becoming a dangerous one. Sandra answered every question honestly, provided her identity without hesitation, and never raised her voice.

[00:25:16]Her mother did the same. They exercised their rights by cooperating, and that cooperation is exactly what allowed officers to move toward resolution rather than escalation. The Myrtle Beach Police Department earns a C. The entire chain of events that put Sandra in handcuffs on a public road originated with a county level failure to remove an NCIC entry after the reporting party called in and confirmed the plate was recovered. The owner of Transformer Auto Sales did everything correctly. He reported the initial theft. He called back when the plate was found. He was told it would be handled and he received confirmation it was done. It was not done. That failure is not a minor clerical oversight. It is the direct cause of an 18-year-old and her mother being removed from a vehicle at gunpoint in the middle of a public road. The Supreme Court recognized in Arizona versus Evans decided in 1995 that clerical errors and criminal databases can form the basis of lawful stops, but that legal protection for the officer does not eliminate the institutional responsibility of the agency that created the error in the first place. A federal court ultimately agreed. In 2023, the family settled their civil rights lawsuit out of court, and the Horry County Sheriff's Office was required to pay $165,000 in damages for their failure to remove the stolen status from NCIC after being directly notified by the reporting party. That settlement is not just a number. It is a formal legal acknowledgement that what happened to Sandra and her mother on this road was preventable and that the agency responsible for preventing it did not do its job. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic you would like us to discuss in the comments below. Thank you for watching and don't forget to subscribe to Legal Logic for Police Accountability Analysis.