Jury Clears Randolph County Deputies of Excessive Force in 2019 Traffic Stop

RANDOLPH COUNTY , N.C. — A jury found three Randolph County Sheriff’s Office deputies not liable for violating the Fourth Amendment or using excessive force during a 2019 traffic stop and arrest of Ka’Lah Martin.

The case involved a February 28, 2019, incident in which deputies forcibly removed Martin from her car. According to court documents, Martin’s vehicle had only one operable door, requiring her to climb through the rear passenger door to enter and exit her vehicle. Earlier that day, officers in Montgomery County confiscated her license plate over insurance concerns. Despite this, Martin continued driving, and a Randolph County deputy later attempted to pull her over on I-73/74 for failing to display a registration plate.

Court documents state Martin slowed to 30 mph, turned on her hazard lights, but passed two exits and traveled 5.7 miles before stopping. She stated that darkness and heavy rain caused her to not pull over sooner. Deputies approached her car with guns drawn, ordered her to exit, and, after breaking two windows, pulled her out through the driver’s side window, placing her in handcuffs.

Martin was charged with driving with a revoked license, failure to heed lights or sirens, and resisting an officer. Those charges were later dropped.

In 2021, Martin sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging excessive force and Fourth Amendment violations, claiming minor injuries from the incident. The deputies were denied qualified immunity, with a judge ruling that, if Martin’s allegations were true, “every reasonable officer would have understood that what he was doing was unlawful.”

After a three-day trial, a jury on November 20 found Deputies Short, Gabby, and Harrelson not liable for excessive force, assault, or battery.

Martin’s attorney, Taylor Dant, expressed pride in her client for testifying and highlighted gaps in immunity laws, saying, “Post-trial, a rare opportunity exists to address those gaps. We are going to try to protect everyone with this loss.”

Randolph County Sheriff Gregory Seabolt called the lawsuit “frivolous and meritless,” defending his deputies’ actions as reasonable and criticizing Martin’s legal counsel for accusing the deputies of racism.

Dant has filed motions for a new trial and reconsideration.