MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A South Florida woman is taking legal action after she says she was forcefully arrested by Miami-Dade police and then slapped with drug charges.
The ride to jail was not only sudden, but a complete surprise to Alcina Scott.
Police bodycam video showed the moments after Scott was arrested and accused of selling drugs back in September 2020 at a bar near Northwest 92nd Street and 22nd Avenue.
Officers had a search warrant for the bar, but Scott was inside solely as a patron when she was forcefully arrested.
“They threw me to the ground,” she said. “I had my keys and $70 in my hand -- my phone, everything fell to the ground.”
Several other people were also in the bar at the time.
Police did find cocaine hidden in a bathroom, but no drugs were ever found on Scott or in her car.
“I’m thinking it’s a joke because I know you never saw me behind the bar, especially selling drugs,” she said.
Weeks later, a judge dismissed the serious charges, citing a lack of probable cause.
Now three years later, Scott is suing the Miami-Dade Police Department for excessive force and wrongful arrest.
“They jumped to conclusions,” attorney Jeremy McLymont said. “They didn’t do their job properly, they didn’t do an actual investigation and that can’t be the way that police officers operate when they are here to protect and serve.”