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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Albany police accused again. Rape under color of authority. ALBANY -- Another woman has publicly accused the Albany police of conducting an improper cavity search. On Monday, a 22-year-old Troy woman who said she was unlawfully strip-searched by members of the Albany Police Department and then forced to undergo a pelvic cavity search at Albany Medical Center Hospital on Jan. 28 filed a notice of claim against the city. That legal filing comes a little more than a week after police leaders defended their internal investigation into a complaint by a Ravena woman who said she was subjected to a cavity search on a public street during a traffic stop on Dec. 22. The January incident allegedly unfolded when a vehicle in which Crystal Royal, 22, was traveling was stopped by police on Interstate 787. It's not clear whether she was the driver or if others were in the car. Royal's driver's license was current and her vehicle was properly registered and inspected, according to the claim filed by her attorney Terence L. Kindlon of Albany. He said she was not stopped for any traffic infraction. She was made to stand on the roadway for an extended period of time while her car, body and purse were searched, according to the claim, which was filed in order to preserve Royal's right to file a lawsuit against the city. Royal's cellphone also was seized, and police used it to inspect her call list and place phone calls, according to the claim. Royal was then transported to an Albany police station, where she was "involuntarily subjected to an unlawful body cavity and strip search" that included having her squat naked in front of a female officer, the claim states. "Crystal did not deserve to be forced to live through this nightmare," Kindlon said. A law enforcement source familiar with the case told the Times Union two weeks ago that Albany detectives were following Royal's car that night because they believed the occupants may have been involved in a drug transaction. No drugs were found in the vehicle or on anyone inside the car, the sources said. A week after the incident Royal was charged with a felony drug conspiracy count. She was arraigned in Albany City Court and sent to Albany County jail before being released on bond. John Reilly, the city's corporation counsel, said he did not become aware of the notice of claim until nearly 3 p.m. Monday. He declined immediate comment on it, noting it had just arrived. In the Dec. 28 incident, no drugs or contraband were found on the Ravena woman, Lisa Shutter, and she was not ticketed or arrested after her body, car and purse were searched by officers who did not have a search warrant. But while that case involved an apparently random traffic stop by two uniformed patrol officers, Royal's traffic stop was apparently handled by detectives and may have involved a court-approved wiretap. Kindlon said police have not produced copies of any search warrants used to search Royal's vehicle, or her body during separate cavity searches done at Albany Med and the police station. In another case with similar allegations, an Albany man has filed a federal lawsuit against the Albany County Sheriff's Department in connection with his arrest at the Albany bus terminal two years ago. The man, Tunde Clement, was charged with a misdemeanor for resisting arrest but then was forced to undergo a strip-search at sheriff's headquarters. He was then transported to Albany Med and was forcibly sedated as he underwent an anoscopy, X-rays and other examinations in a search for drugs. No drugs were found.
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