MADISON — Federal jurors last week awarded a former Eau Claire man $550,000 for an unlawful traffic stop by an Eau Claire police officer and malicious prosecution by the Eau Claire County District Attorney’s office.
Sidney L. Coleman, now of Birmingham, Ala., represented himself in 2 1/2-day trial after which jurors awarded him $50,000 for an unlawful traffic stop, $400,000 for malicious prosecution and $100,000 in punitive damages for malicious prosecution.
According to court documents, officer Sam Sperry was on patrol October 2019 when he saw a car in Regency Inn & Suites parking lot with the engine running and occupied by a passenger but no driver.
Sperry then saw Coleman leave the hotel and enter the driver’s side of the vehicle, which had Illinois license plates commonly used by rental car fleets. Coleman contended that he was intentionally targeting African Americans while on patrol and picked out his car because it had out-of-state plates, an accusation Sperry denied.
The car failed to stop at a traffic light and made an improper right-hand turn, according to Sperry. Coleman subsequently denied violating any traffic laws.
Sperry stopped the vehicle and found the rental car’s registration was expired.
Coleman’s brother, Timothy Coleman, bolted from the stopped vehicle and ignored Sperry’s orders to show his hands and get back inside the car.
While Sperry said he only drew his service weapon and pointed it at Timothy Coleman after his disobeyed his orders, Sidney Coleman claimed that his brother slowly exited the vehicle and had one hand on the car and another on his phone recording the situation.
Sidney Coleman got out of the car and locked it.
Sperry requested back up to which several officers responded.
Neither Coleman was armed, and both were placed in squad cars.
When they reached the rented vehicle, officers saw an opened beer bottle, a pill bottle and smelled the odor of marijuana. Based on these observations, the car was searched and an empty hypodermic needle, a prescription pill bottle with marijuana, two MDMA pills, a pocketknife and four cell phones were recovered.
Timothy Coleman told the officers anything in the car belonged to him.
Because Sidney Coleman was on parole at the time, Sperry took him into custody and was later arrested for possession of THC, methamphetamine, carrying a concealed knife and non-criminal traffic offenses.
Learning that Coleman was staying at the Regency, Sperry contacted Eau Claire County Assistant District Attorney Angela Beranek about obtaining a search warrant. Sperry then drafted a search warrant, which was signed by Judge Sarah Harless.
A marijuana grinder and a glass bong were recovered from the hotel room.
Coleman was found guilty of operating a motor vehicle without insurance, driving on a suspended license.
In December 2020, prosecutors dropped the drug charge against Coleman.
Coleman filed suit against Sperry and the five responding officers claiming their actions were motivated by his race and violated his Fourth Amendment right against unlawful search and seizure.
Coleman, 39, said Monday he had previously obtained an $8,000 settlement from the city of Madison after filing an unlawful arrest suit against Madison police.
His attorney in the drug case in Eau Claire County wanted him to plead guilty to a felony charge and possible prison sentence, which Coleman said destroyed his faith in defense attorneys.
“I looked all over for an attorney in this case, and no one would represent me. They said they wouldn’t take the case...Even my wife doubted that I could win,” Coleman said.
Coleman said the strongest evidence he had came from the police reports and Sperry’s own statements.
Although court documents said Eau Claire police perceived the Regency to be a location for drug activity, Coleman said he was saying there with his wife and four kids because it had reasonable rates.
Coleman lived in Eau Claire only about five months, moving from Madison in order to start a new life but moved to Alabama after his encounter with the police.
“They (the police) stigmatize the hotel and have the perception that using a rented car makes you a drug dealer,” Coleman said. “They found two ecstasy pills and two marijuana cigarettes and labeled me a drug dealer from Chicago,” he said.
During the trial, Judge William Conley assisted Coleman “at times within the terms of the law. He didn’t hold simple mistakes against me. He watched out for everyone’s rights,” Coleman said.
The Crivello, Nichols & Hall law firm represented the city’s insurer at trial and missed deadlines for filing motions and were slow with turning over discovery to Coleman, he said.
Calls to Crivello attorneys, Samuel Hall and Timothy Johnson, for comment weren’t immediately returned.
After the trial, Conley told Coleman he would write him a letter of recommendation if he applies to a law school, Coleman said.
Coleman attended Chippewa Valley Technical College and since has obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting and is on track for a master’s in business administration by the end of the year.
His courtroom success has him considering law school, getting a degree and helping others get the legal representation they need.
“I wanted to give back and help others you can’t get a lawyer to help them,” he said.’
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