Woman sues KC police officers in federal court after alleged illegal home search
A Jackson County woman is suing two Kansas City police officers in federal court after they entered her home without a search warrant and arrested her in her undergarments.
Around 10:10 p.m. on October 23, 2023, TeLissah Johnson saw two unexpected visitors on her home security camera, according to court documents. One was an unfamiliar woman. The other was her ex-boyfriend.
Two Kansas City police officers, identified in court documents as Eric Lyles and Joseph Turley, approached Johnson’s house next, where they spoke to the ex-boyfriend.
Officers began knocking on Johnson’s door and saying they needed to talk to her, according to Johnson’s affidavit.
When she opened the door partially, officers told her she was under arrest for violating an order of protection, court documents allege. No orders of protection against Johnson exist.
Johnson alleges Lyles and Turley forced their way into her home and handcuffed her while she stood in her bra and underwear. The pair then searched the home without presenting a search warrant or telling her what they were looking for, according to court documents.
Court documents allege that Johnson’s ex-boyfriend called police to the home after Johnson refused to let him in. The man allegedly told police that Johnson was his wife and that he had important legal documents inside.
According to Johnson, her ex-boyfriend never lived in the home or stored any of his things there. Lyles and Turley eventually took off the handcuffs and left with no explanation, according to Johnson’s affidavit.
Johnson also alleged that the officers pointed their guns at her during the search. They failed to file a report after the fact explaining why, as is required, according to court documents.
“To me, that indicates they’re so used to this pervasive abuse that it doesn’t even dawn on them that they’re also breaking Missouri law and federal law,” said attorney Henry Service, who will represent Johnson at trial.
The Kansas City police department was unavailable for comment.
Lyles and Turley do not deny that they went to Johnson’s house and placed her under arrest, according to court documents. The whole incident was filmed on the officers’ body cameras.
Johnson told the United States District Court that she no longer feels safe in her home after the events of October 23. Now, she’s individually suing both Lyles and Turley in federal district court. She is also suing Jackson County at large.
Service, Johnson’s attorney, said he thinks Kansas City police were not “altogether truthful” about what happened the night of Johnson’s arrest.
“It shows a complete reckless disregard for the individual,” Service said.”It’s almost as if they didn’t care who they were doing it to, and whether that person had individual feelings.”
Johnson’s attorneys are aiming for high compensation, Service said.
“We’re hoping for enough monetary damages so that it gives any police officer pause if they ever feel like treating a private citizen like this again,” Service said. “Communities have been complaining about this type of thing for years.”
Johnson previously appeared in Jackson County courts in 2021 when she tried to sue her former employer, Menard Inc., for wrongful termination. Johnson was fired two weeks after filing an internal complaint alleging race discrimination.
Neither Turley nor Lyles have been involved in a civil court case before.
