Drug-Planting Case Against Cops Proceeds

SAN JOSE (CN) - A woman may pursue claims that Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies planted drugs in her home, a federal judge ruled.

Allison Ross sued the sheriff, her crime lab and 12 officers in April, claiming that officers' dashboard camera and audio caught the deputies conspiring to plant drugs after their first search of her house came up empty in 2009.

"The Incident Report states that two bags of white powder were found and confiscated. However, pursuant to the vehicle dash camera video and transcript, the officers are heard on the recording saying: 'the house is clean, there is no meth in the house', 'we're gonna spike that and we're gonna spike him.' 'I got the meth in the ------- car,'" the complaint states. (Epithet deleted in complaint.)

Ross also claimed that the crime lab tampered with her blood samples.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila on Nov. 26 granted in part and denied in part the sheriff's motions to dismiss Ross's complaint. Davila gave Ross 30 days to file a second amended complaint.

In April, Ross sued the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department, the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory, the county and the sheriff, along with several deputies and sergeants, alleging a police car dash cam captured officials plotting to plant drugs after an illegal search of Ross's home in 2009.

Davila dismissed the crime lab as an improper party, and dismissed many constitutional claims.

But he denied the defendants' motions to dismiss the Sheriff's Department as an improper party, to dismiss a conspiracy claim and to dismiss claims of municipal liability.

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