Iowa woman sues two county sheriffs over traffic stop

A central Iowa woman is suing the sheriffs of Boone County and Story County for alleged civil rights violations stemming from a traffic stop.

Tina Marie Myers, 56, of Boone alleges that on Feb. 24, 2022, she was driving a Dodge Dakota truck along Mamie Eisenhower Drive in Boone after dropping off Girl Scout cookies at a friend’s home when Sgt. Nicholas Hochberger of the Story County Sheriff’s Office and Marshall Moore of the Boone Police Department began following her vehicle.

The officers allegedly pulled over Myers due to a cracked taillight and a snow-covered license plate. Hochberger initially told Myers he’d be writing her two warnings while Deputy Nate Benjamin of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office deployed a police dog to check the truck.

The lawsuit claims Benjamin falsely stated the dog signaled the presence of narcotics, and Myers was ordered to sit in the back of a police car while deputies took her purse and placed it in the front seat of the car. After a search of the truck failed to produce any narcotics, officers searched Myers’ purse and found what they believed to be methamphetamine, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims Benjamin, Hochberger and Moore searched Myers’ truck and purse without probable cause and then charged her with one count of a controlled substance violation. After Myers’ attorney filed a motion to suppress evidence from the traffic stop, the Boone County Attorney’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the case, which was granted by a judge.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, accuses Benjamin, Hochberger and Moore of false arrest, and accuses Story County, Boone County and the City of Boone of negligent training and supervision. The defendants have yet to file a response to the allegations.