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The Troup County NAACP and the law firm Hall and Lampros, LLP, have helped secure a five-figure settlement for an incident back in 2023 involving LaGrange Police.

Plaintiff Rodney Williams, Jr. sought legal relief for a police encounter where LaGrange Police officers allegedly illegally entered his home to arrest him.

The lawsuit was filed in January of this year against the officer, Matthew Turner, and recently ended with a settlement dismissal on June 4. Williams did not wish to disclose the exact amount of the settlement, but it was in the range of five figures.

According to the attorney Andrew Lampros, the initial call was for a dog off a leash and ended up with an arrest.

“The initial call was for dogs off the leash, which is a municipal ordinance violation. A municipal ordinance violation in the hierarchy of things is below a misdemeanor. You can’t go busting in somebody’s house for a municipal ordinance violation. “They did that, and then after, they tore up his furniture and tased him and did some other things.”

Lampros and Williams said there were seven or eight LaGrange police officers there at the time, possibly more.

After Williams was detained, the officers began illegally searching the home, according to Lampros.

“[They were] just rummaging through the house, had him on the steps in handcuffs, and his father showed up, and the whole situation changed, because these were all a bunch of young, inexperienced police officers,” Lampros said. “His father is a 20 or 30-year veteran [officer] and he set them straight.”

The plaintiff’s father, Sgt. Rodney Williams, Sr., is a former LaGrange Police officer and currently serves with the Forest Park Police Department.

“When Mr. Williams, Sr. showed up, there was one adult and a whole bunch of children, a man among boys. But by that time, the damage had been done. So we sued the offending officer in federal court, and we reached a settlement very early in the litigation,” Lampros said.

Lampros said there was no justification for the incident.

“They had the address, they had his description, they had the license plate on the car parked in the carport. If they need to charge him with a municipal ordinance, write it up and mail it to him. And that’s not what he did. He kept saying, Come out here. And he’s like, I’m not coming out here, which is his right,” Lampros said.

“He went in the house and even got a little rough with [Williams’] roommate,” Lampros said. “He tased him for no reason, no reason whatsoever.  He wasn’t a threat. Hadn’t threatened, wasn’t a physical threat, and hadn’t used fighting words. He’d used some profanity, but there are two grown men, and profanity is acceptable in those circumstances.”

Williams, Jr. was eventually charged with disorderly conduct, resisting and two counts of dogs running at large, but an obstruction and resisting charge were dismissed, Lampros said.

The Troup NAACP helped bring the Atlanta-based firm, Hall and Lampros, to LaGrange and start a local satellite office.

NAACP member Glenn Dowell praised the law firm for securing the settlement, saying the scales of justice have been balanced.

For more information on Hall and Lampros visit https://www.hallandlampros.com/.