News
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Scott MacLatchie is representing a North Carolina police department in a high-profile dispute involving an arrest at Carolina Place Mall.
The plaintiff is suing the Pineville Police Department following a March 31 arrest on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest. The plaintiff alleges he was arrested “without probable cause” and that police “used excessive force” in making the arrest.
But MacLatchie, in speaking with Fox46 News in Charlotte, said police bodycam footage tells a different story. He said the plaintiff was hostile and uncooperative in the encounter.
“It would be my opinion that the officers actually exercised commendable restraint,” he said. “I believe what is shown on the body cameras is entirely inconsistent with what's been alleged against the officers.”
MacLatchie has extensive experience defending law enforcement officers in police shooting cases. He also has served as an adjunct faculty member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Southeastern Center for Police Law and Liability Management, with an emphasis on police use of force. In addition, he has a personal background in law enforcement, having served as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department since 1979.
Click here to see the full story from Fox46 News.
Scott MacLatchie’s practice has been primarily devoted to the defense of law enforcement officers and municipalities in police misconduct and related civil rights litigation in both state and federal courts. He has substantial trial experience with successful verdicts in a wide variety of cases including police shootings, deployment of police dogs, use of force (deadly and non-deadly), asset forfeiture and miscellaneous search and seizure matters ranging from false arrest to execution of high-risk search warrants.
