$100,000 Settlement Reached For Tennessee Detainee Baptized to Get Out of Traffic Ticket
On August 16, 2024, the federal court for the Eastern District of Tennessee approved a settlement agreement that left Hamilton County on the hook for $100,000 to the estate of Shandie M. Riley, whose civil rights suit alleged that her First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated when a County Sheriff’s Deputy baptized her following a traffic stop “that ended like no other.”
On the evening of February 6, 2019, Dep. Daniel Wilkey stopped Riley, allegedly suspicious that the window tint on her car was too dark. She admitted to having marijuana in the car, and Wilkey had her step outside, placing her in handcuffs while he searched the vehicle. When he returned, he had her “shake out her bra” to determine there was no more contraband; the two then began to discuss religious topics. Wilkey asked Riley if she wanted to be baptized. Riley, who later testified that she was afraid to go to jail, was hesitant but agreed after Wilkey told her that he would only write a citation and speak on her behalf in court if she consented to the baptism.
She then followed Wilkey to a public boat ramp at a nearby lake, where Wilkey stripped to his underwear and entered the water with Riley, who was fully clothed, baptizing her into his evangelical Christian faith. The bizarre event was helpfully recorded on the cellphone camera of Wilkey’s fellow Dep. Jacob Goforth, whom he had summoned en route to the lake and who agreed to join them and film what happened.
In October 2019, Riley sued Wilkey under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the baptism violated her First Amendment right under the Establishment Clause to freedom from religious coercion, as well as her Fourth Amendment right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. During the pending litigation, Riley passed away without a will on April 13, 2022; but she left two beneficiaries, her daughter, Bailey White, and another child, who was still a minor and identified in court documents as “RGK.” White was then substituted as a real party in interest and administrator of Riley’s estate for purposes of the case.
Wilkey sought qualified immunity against Riley’s claims and moved for summary judgment. When the district court denied that motion, he appealed. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dismissed that appeal on March 25, 2024. As the appellate Court noted, a Defendant appealing an interlocutory order must accept the Plaintiff’s version of the facts. But Wilkey only “purports to concede White’s version of the facts,” the Court said, while “the arguments made in his appeal demonstrate that his concession is ‘a concession in name only,’” quoting Anderson-Santos v. Kent Cty., 94 F.4th 550 (6th Cir. 2024). Since Wilkey depicted the facts of the arrest in a manner that disputed the district court’s factual determinations for his qualified immunity defense, the Court dismissed his appeal for lack of jurisdiction. See: White v. Hamilton Cty., 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 7263 (6th Cir.).
Trial was then set to start on July 29, 2024. But on the morning of trial, the parties announced that they had resolved all the issues and agreed to a settlement, subject to approval by the County Commission and the legal guardian for Riley’s now 14-year-old son. Their joint motion to approve the settlement was granted by Judge Travis R. McDonough. Under its terms, $25,000 was paid to White and $25,000 to Riley’s minor son, while the remaining $50,000 covered fees and costs for White’s attorneys: Robin R. Flores of the Flores Law Office in Chattanooga; Andrew C . Clarke of Memphis; and Howard B. Manis of the Cochran Firm, also in Memphis.
Judge McDonough noted the striking contrast between the settlement participation by the County, which he described as the “much-less blameworthy party,” and Wilkey, who was not personally obligated to pay anything to settle Riley’s claims—though as the judge also stated, it was unlikely that Wilkey would have the means to pay the settlement himself. The agreement featured no non-monetary pledges from Wilkey, either. The judge said that he believed Wilkey should not be hired to work for another law enforcement agency. See White v. Hamilton Cty., USDC (E.D. Tenn.), Case No. 1:19-cv-00304.
Criminal charges filed against Wilkey, who is White, for allegedly terrorizing a Black motorist and sexually touching her 19-year-old son—during another traffic stop predicated on overly dark window tinting—were dismissed in May 2023. A request to decertify Wilkey made to the state Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission by County Sheriff Austin Garrett was rescinded in July 2023, though Garrett said he had no plans to rehire his former deputy. Meanwhile, for giving Riley her fatal dose of fentanyl in April 22, Austin Chase King, 24, remains in the Hamilton County lockup awaiting trial currently scheduled for July 2025.
Additional sources: WRCB, WTVC
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Related legal case
White v. Hamilton Cty.
| Year | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (E.D. Tenn.), Case No. 1:19-cv-00304 |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |