OCALA – A Marion County couple has filed a lawsuit against the City of Ocala claiming a police officer stopped them without cause and made an unjustified arrest.

Plaintiffs Sterling Hope III and Bonnie Hope filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Ocala, Florida, and Officer Natawi Chin, citing allegations of unlawful stop, detention, and interrogation, false arrest/false imprisonment and loss of consortium.

According to court documents, on July 13, 2022, Chin stopped Sterling Hope, a Black man, for a supposed window tint violation. The lawsuit claims the stop was unjustified and Chin made the stop with the intention of finding an opportunity to conduct an illegal search and make a drug-related arrest. 

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