Dunaway: Strip Searches Must Follow The Law

With multiple strip search lawsuits ongoing across the Upper Cumberland, District Attorney Bryant Dunaway said he expects law enforcement in his service area to follow the law.

Dunaway said specific statutes have been passed by Tennessee Legislatures to protect people’s privacy.

“No person who is arrested for a traffic or regulatory or other misdemeanor offense except should be stripped search,” Dunaway said. “Unless there is a reasonable belief that the person is concealing a weapon, a controlled substance or some type of controlled substance analog.”

It is common practice for people to hide drugs and weapons in clothing or in parts of the body. Dunaway said that contributes to the issue. Dunaway said it is common practice when a strip search is conducted that the officer is the same sex as the suspect.

“My experience is and my observation has been that is the policy of most departments,” Dunaway said. “For example, if it is a female person being searched, then the best practice and most department policies would get a female police officer or investigator to conduct that search. That is more on policy level. That aspect is not addressed in the statute.”

Law enforcement in Fentress and White Counties both face lawsuits on the issue.