Polk County, Florida’s state attorney Jerry Hill has issued a formal complaint letter to the Lakeland Police Department, expressing disapproval on a particular search method used on a woman.

Polk County Florida’s state attorney Jerry Hill has issued a formal complaint letter to the Lakeland Police Department, expressing disapproval on a particular search method used on a woman. According to released reports, an officer instructed an adult female to lift her shirt above her stomach and shake out her bra during a routine traffic stop on May 21st

Hill claimed law enforcement did not have a justifiable reason to suspect the woman was carrying narcotics as none were found in the vehicle or on the passenger. No drugs were found after the female shook her bra out, so she was told by the officer to do it a second time. A subsequent search of the vehicle also failed to reveal any drugs.

In Hill’s letter, he noted “This highly questionable search method is not only demeaning but is ineffective and possibly dangerous.” Once the department was informed of the state attorney’s investigation, the officer in question was put on paid leave for four days but he has since returned to work.

The officer involved believed the bra shake search technique to be an accepted procedure within the department, despite the lack of formal training in the practice.