Couple awarded $1.3 Million in racial profiling lawsuit

A jury in Charleston on Wednesday found that the South Carolina state trooper who stopped Catherine Newkirk on I-95 on October 14, 2012 for speeding violated her and her husband’s civil rights, the Charleston Post and Courier reported Thursday.

The traffic stop, which was captured in a dashcam video, occurred in Florence County. Trooper James Enzor, who was later fired by the SC Highway Patrol, alleged that Newkirk was driving 77 mph in a 55 mph construction zone. She insisted that she was not speeding when she was stopped.

During the traffic stop, Newkirk accused the trooper of racial profiling. Both she and her husband, who are black, were handcuffed and jailed for more than 24 hours. She and her husband accused both Enzor, who is white, and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety with using excessive force and wrongful arrest. The SCDPS settled with the Newkirks last week for $100,000, the P&C reported.

A federal jury heard the case in a three day trial and Wednesday evening awarded Jerome Newkirk $325,000 and $1 million to his wife.

Columbia attorney Dick Harpootlian was one of the Newkirk’s attorneys. He told the P&C that the verdict was significant because no one was shot, beaten or killed.

"It's not about the money," he told the newspaper. "It's about holding people accountable."

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Couple awarded $1.3 Million in racial profiling lawsuit."