Detroit officers cleared in illegal search lawsuit

DETROIT — A jury has cleared a Detroit police officer in a lawsuit alleging he conducted an illegal search by sticking his finger in the rectum of a suspect during a traffic stop and drug arrest.

The jury deliberated for about an hour Wednesday before clearing Sgt. Michael Osman and his partner, Officer Michael Parish, of wrongdoing.

Twenty-eight-year-old Terence Hopkins accused Osman of sticking his finger in Hopkins’ rectum during a 2006 drug arrest while Parish stood by. Hopkins was seeking $1 million or more.

The city of Detroit has paid more than $700,000 in settlements to four men who made similar allegations against the officers. Those settlements were deemed inadmissible as evidence in the Hopkins lawsuit.