Comedian Eric André’s legal battle over alleged civil rights violations by a Georgia police department was revived by a higher court this week, Us Weekly has learned.
According to court documents obtained by Us, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a ruling on August 15 in favor of André, 42, and fellow comedian Clayton English in the lawsuit against Clayton County, Georgia and the Clayton County Police Department.
The lawsuit was originally dismissed in 2022, but André and his friend filed an appeal. The higher court listened to arguments and sided with the entertainer.
The order read, “We conclude that plaintiffs plausibly alleged that defendants violated their Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The individual defendants are entitled to qualified immunity, but Clayton County is not.”
“We reverse the dismissal of plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment claims against Clayton County. We affirm the dismissal of plaintiffs’ remaining claims,” the order continued.
In the original lawsuit, André claimed he was traveling from South Carolina to Los Angeles in 2021 when he stopped at the Atlanta airport for a layover.
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While at the Atlanta airport, André said he was stopped by investigators who came onto the jet bridge. He claimed the investigators asked for his boarding pass and identification. Andre said he did not give consent to the officers to search his belongings. He believed he was a victim of racial profiling.
In the recent order, the higher court noted, “Inside the jet bridge, a CCPD officer and CCDAO investigator obstructed André’s path. The officers flashed their badges and began asking André if he was carrying any illegal drugs, such as ‘cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription drugs that were not prescribed to him by a doctor, or other narcotics.’”
André André denied carrying illegal drugs but believed “he did not have any choice but to continue to reply to the officers’ questions, and that he was not free to leave.” The order stated, “One officer told André that they were conducting ‘random’ stops and that their questions were ‘protocol.’”
“After approximately five minutes of standing in the narrow jet bridge and being questioned, Mr. André was told by the officers that he was free to leave and board the plane,” the higher court explained.
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English allegedly had a similar experience in 2020 at the Atlanta airport. The comedians alleged that Clayton County’s drug program targets passengers based on race.
They said the program discriminates against black passengers and against passengers of color more generally. They alleged that for 378 of the 402 documented stops during the relevant period, the agency recorded the race of the passenger, and 56 percent of the passengers were black.
The defendants denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
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The higher court ruled André had valid points on the seizures being improper. The order noted the lower court should not have dismissed the Fourth Amendment claims against Clayton County.
The case will go back to the lower court, where the lawsuit will resume where it left off when it was dismissed.
