La’Nisha Hemingway, an 18-year-old senior at North Myrtle Beach High School, was unlawfully detained by North Myrtle Beach police officers Kayla Wallace and Mike Pacileo in May. The officers had pulled her over under suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle. However, Officer Wallace had already identified that Hemingway’s car was a different color and had a different license plate number from the stolen vehicle in question. Despite this, both officers pulled guns on Hemingway and treated her like a car thief.
Officer Wallace noted the variations immediately after stepping out of her car to approach Hemingway’s vehicle but failed to inform Pacileo and continued to act as if they had the right car. Pacileo was already out of his car, gun in hand, ordering Hemingway to step out of her vehicle. Hemingway pleaded with the officers and tried to assure them that her vehicle’s registration papers were legitimate, but her requests were rejected.
On June 17, Hemingway filed a federal lawsuit against both officers, accusing them of false imprisonment, unlawful seizure, excessive force, recklessness, and negligent training. North Myrtle Beach Police Chief Dana Crowell was also named in the lawsuit. The lawsuit emphasized the significant differences between the suspected stolen vehicle, a silver Dodge Challenger with South Carolina license plate VLP 678, and Hemingway’s car, a dark grey Dodge Charger with license plate VSW 736.
In a press conference held on June 18, Hemingway’s attorney, Tyler Bailey, expressed concern with several anomalies in the incident, including that the officers did not ask for Hemingway’s license or registration papers, or her name. Bailey also pointed out that it took several days for a report of the incident to be filed, which is a violation of South Carolina laws mandating that all traffic stops be documented, even if no arrest or citation is made.
Dr. Aaron Cox, Hemingway’s uncle who served in law enforcement for 34 years, including a period as a South Carolina trooper, concurred with Bailey’s assessment. He asserted the law enforcement officers had mishandled the situation from the beginning and dehumanized Hemingway.
