A federal judge has dismissed the civil lawsuit of an African American man who claimed he suffered racial discrimination and physical aggression during a traffic stop by Cheyenne Police Department officers.
Gene Clemetson sued the Cheyenne Police Department and two of its officers in their official capacity last September.
In his original complaint, Clemetson alleged he was leaving an 11-hour shift at the U.S. Postal Service at 10:30 the evening of Sept. 9, 2022, after having “not a drop” to drink.
He made a right turn after slowing “briefly” at a yellow light. A CPD agent pulled him over, says the complaint.
Clemetson had claimed that one officer said he could smell alcohol on Clemetson, but that multiple other officers who later arrived ducked the question by saying they had allergies, COVID and other reasons for not being able to smell.
The incident escalated and an officer called for backup. Officers surrounded Clemetson, and one officer eventually dragged him from his vehicle, aggressively, by pulling his arm, the man had alleged.
He was “cuffed for no cause,” and held by two officers for an apparent weapons check, Clemetson’s filings say.
Dismissed
U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson dismissed the case last week, saying Clemetson did not link the racial discrimination he claimed to have suffered to a policy or custom advanced by the department as required in this type of lawsuit.
The dismissal is without prejudice, meaning Clemetson could reframe the lawsuit and bring it again.
On Friday, Clemetson said he finds the dismissal “ridiculous.”
“It makes no sense to me, because, you know, (the judge) mentioned something about customs and policies,” said Clemetson. “What does that even mean? Because there’s no (discrimination) precedent it didn’t exist? It didn’t happen? I think it’s pretty ridiculous.”
Clemetson said he’s experienced racial discrimination elsewhere in Cheyenne, and the city “doesn’t particularly look too impressive.”
The majority of people he’s met, however, “have been decent,” Clemetson added.
Clemetson's attorney Cassie Craven did not respond by Friday to a Thursday text message request for comment.
As for the police department, it called the case result fitting in a Thursday email to Cowboy State Daily.
“The (dismissal) order confirms that the officer’s actions were constitutionally sound and that Clemetson’s claims were without merit,” wrote the department, via its public information officer Alexandra Farkas. “The order confirms that the department’s training and policies are in line with the state statute and the Constitution.”
The department’s attorney Amy Iberlin said the CPD strives to provide the best policing it can, “and this result is warranted and reflective of that.”
“We never have policies and procedures, that we have backed at the city of Cheyenne Police Department, condoning any violations of constitutional rights,” said Iberlin.
Some Legal Stuff
The federal mechanism under which Clemetson sued only holds municipal entities — like the police department and its officers — liable if the entity has a policy or practice in place driving its allegedly unconstitutional conduct, Johnson wrote in his dismissal order.
Clemetson didn’t point to such a policy or practice driving the officers’ conduct that night, and Johnson reiterated the alleged wrongs he suffered doesn’t remedy that.
This lawsuit doesn't mark the first time Clemetson has made headlines. In spring 2024, he said Laramie County School District No. 1 personnel kicked him out of their schools because he refused to use transgender students' alternate, preferred names.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
