Nearly naked deputy ‘felt the spirit,’ forcibly baptized Tennessee woman, lawsuit says
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A woman in Tennessee said a sheriff’s deputy stripped down to his boxers and forcibly baptized her at a boat ramp late one night in February.
Now she’s suing for more than $10 million, according to court documents.
Shandle Marie Riley accused two sheriff’s deputies and the Hamilton County government of civil rights violations and assault in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, saying she was “horribly violated” when one of the men got partially naked and dunked her in freezing cold water — all reportedly to keep her out of jail after a traffic stop.
“(The deputy) had no lawful basis to coerce (Riley) into obtaining towels, following (him) to a remote location, and participating in a baptism in exchange for not going to jail,” the complaint states. “No reasonable law enforcement officer would have acted in this manner.”
Representatives from the county and the sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to McClatchy news group’s request for comment Wednesday.
Riley said she was pulled over after 10 p.m. on Feb. 6 by Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel Wilkey as she arrived at a friend’s house, where she was visiting her child.
During the traffic stop, the deputy accused Riley of having meth and ordered her to get out of the car, according to the suit.
“Without any lawful justification, Wilkey then conducted a search of the plaintiff’s person by feeling, through plaintiff’s clothing, her breasts, abdomen, buttocks, inner thighs and her crotch,” the complaint states.
He also reportedly asked her to “reach under her shirt and pull out her bra and shake the bra and the shirt.”
When Riley asked if a female officer should be present, Wilkey told her the law didn’t require it, according to the suit.
Riley eventually turned over a “roach” — the remains of a joint or blunt — she had in a cigarette pack after the deputy inquired as to whether she had anything illegal, she said in the suit.
The deputy then searched her car, reportedly accusing her of lying about not having other drugs and saying he knew about her criminal record.
When nothing else illegal was found, according to the complaint, Wilkey asked if she believed in Jesus Christ or had been “saved.”
Riley reportedly responded by saying she did believe in Jesus Christ but was not saved.
“Wilkey then told plaintiff that God was talking to him during the vehicle search, and Wilkey felt the lord wanted him to baptize the plaintiff,” the complaint states. “Wilkey further told plaintiff that he felt ‘the spirit.’”
In exchange for the baptism, the deputy told Riley he would not take her to jail but issue a criminal citation for the marijuana, according to the suit.
Per his instructions, Riley said she brought two towels from her friend’s home and followed the deputy to a boat ramp at Soddy Lake, more than 20 miles outside Chattanooga.
“Wilkey did not say where he was taking her,” the complaint states. “At no time did plaintiff feel free to simply ignore Wilkey and not do as he commanded.”
Another deputy, Jacob Goforth, reportedly met them at the boat ramp to serve as a witness and “attest to the ritual.”
Wilkey then stripped down to his boxer shorts and gave Riley the same option, which she declined, according to the suit.
The deputy led Riley waist-deep into “frigid water” and submerged her with one hand on her back and the other on her breasts “for several moments,” she said in court documents.
“(Riley) was shivering uncontrollably, and felt horribly violated,” the complaint states.
After toweling off, Riley said Goforth “smirked” at her but never attempted to intervene or report his colleague.
The complaint points to a history of abuse by law enforcement officials in Hamilton County and seeks $1 million in compensatory damages, $10 million in punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
