Cincy man sues police over wrongful imprisonment

CINCINNATI (AP) — A Cincinnati man has sued two local police officers for $100 million after he was wrongfully jailed for two months on felony cocaine charges even though video footage would have shown they had the wrong man.

Maurice Snow, 29, filed the federal civil-rights lawsuit against a detective and lieutenant on the Norwood police force Monday, accusing them of recklessly violating his constitutional rights by detaining him without probable cause.

A Norwood police spokesman didn’t immediately return a call for comment today.

Court records show that Snow, who doesn’t have a serious criminal record, was arrested Oct. 18 and booked on four cocaine charges stemming from an investigation by Norwood police over the summer.

The lawsuit says that Snow was accused of being the drug dealer in surveillance videos that police took of controlled drug buys involving a confidential informant.

Snow was jailed for 52 days on a $25,000 bond before the footage was shown in court and attorneys on both sides agreed Snow couldn’t have been the dealer, according to the lawsuit.

Snow was immediately released and the charges were dropped.