City officials in Pevely, Missouri, have agreed to pay $75,000 to settle a lawsuit by a man who claims a police officer detained him and seized his cellphone after the cop noticed him recording a traffic stop in 2019. Matthew Rankin said Officer Wayne Casey pried his phone out of his hand and threatened him with arrest. Casey went through the contents of Rankin’s phone and searched for his information on a police database, according to the lawsuit. The police department later fired Casey after he was caught on video sitting at a desk in a booking area as another officer choked a prisoner.
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