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Lawsuit: Man Was Illegally Strip Searched In Laurel

LAUREL, Md. (AP) -- A Prince George's County man has filed a lawsuit against the city of Laurel, the Laurel Police Department, its chief and two of its officers claiming he was illegally stripped naked in public following a traffic stop.

Fifty-year-old Allan Sergeant says he was pulled over in March 2014 and stripped by Laurel Police Department Officer Alfie G. Acol, exposing his genitals to the public in a brightly lit parking lot, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Sergeant says he doesn't know why he was stopped. He says his rights were infringed upon because he's black and was driving while wearing his hair in dreadlocks.

The city of Laurel and the police department said in a statement that Sergeant was never strip searched.

(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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