Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Faces Lawsuit After Traumatizing Incident Involving Black Mother and Children

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in Florida is once again under fire, this time facing a lawsuit from LaTanya Griffin, a Black mother who alleges that deputies from the office traumatized her and her children during a search warrant execution.

According to Griffin, on the night of Aug. 29, 2019, deputies stormed into her home with a battering ram, forced her out at gunpoint while she was nude, and her 6-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son witnessed the entire ordeal. This was not the first time Griffin experienced such a violation, as she claims a similar incident occurred on May 28, 2020, which was even more humiliating than the first.

The lawsuit filed by Griffin alleges that the May 2020 incident was eerily similar to the August 2019 seizure, with deputies executing an arrest warrant before dawn at her home in full view of the public. Griffin’s children were forced to witness her naked detention for an extended period, despite her objections.

Since the 2020 incident, Griffin has relocated to another part of the state, seeking unspecified damages for the violation of her Fourth Amendment rights, mental anguish, emotional distress, embarrassment, and humiliation.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is once again facing scrutiny for its actions, with Griffin’s lawsuit shedding light on the traumatic experiences endured by her and her children at the hands of law enforcement.