The federal lawsuit Ja’Lana Dunlap-Banks filed against the City of Fayetteville, its police department, and the officers who detained her in September 2022 ended without a settlement. On December 2, 2024, U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan granted summary judgment to the defendants on all nine counts, closing the case before trial.
How The Case Ended
The defendants moved for summary judgment on April 22, 2024. Judge Flanagan granted the motion in full roughly seven months later, ruling that the individual officers were entitled to qualified immunity on the federal civil rights claims and to public official immunity on the state law claims. The City of Fayetteville was shielded by governmental immunity on the negligent hiring, training, and supervision count. The clerk was directed to close the case.
On the Fourth Amendment false arrest and unlawful seizure claim, the court concluded the officers had reasonable suspicion for an investigatory stop under Terry v. Ohio. The ruling pointed to Dunlap-Banks’ presence in an unpaved field near the path a fleeing fugitive with a violent-assault warrant had taken, her refusal to identify herself, her apparent nervousness, her attempt to put her car in reverse, and inconsistent explanations for being on the property.
On the Fourth Amendment excessive force claim, the court found the force used was objectively reasonable. That force consisted of ordering her out of the vehicle, removing her when she refused, and keeping her handcuffed for roughly 15 minutes until officers confirmed she had no connection to the fugitive and no outstanding warrants.
On the First Amendment retaliation claim tied to her recording of the encounter on her phone, the court found the right to record police officers was not “clearly established” in the Fourth Circuit as of September 2022. Under qualified immunity doctrine, that meant the officers could not be held liable even if a violation had occurred, because they could not have known the conduct was unconstitutional at the time.
What Dunlap-Banks Was Suing Over
The claims arose from a September 6, 2022, traffic stop in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Officers had been searching for Joshua Tobias Page, who had outstanding warrants for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Page fled on foot from a residence on Thorndike Drive, and officers spent roughly 45 minutes to an hour canvassing the surrounding neighborhood.
About half a mile from that residence, Officer Ryan Haddock saw Dunlap-Banks, then 22, drive a blue Ford sedan across a ditch into an unpaved open field. He suspected she might be there to pick up the fugitive and initiated a stop. Dunlap-Banks, a property manager, said she was on the property for her employer to address unauthorized dumping. She refused repeated requests to identify herself and began recording on her cellphone.
Detective Amanda Bell arrived as backup. After Dunlap-Banks continued to refuse to identify herself and would not exit the vehicle, Haddock unbuckled her seatbelt and turned off the ignition, Bell removed her from the car, and the officers handcuffed her. Dunlap-Banks, who has sickle cell anemia, hyperventilated and vomited on herself during the detention, according to reporting by the Fayetteville Observer. She was released without arrest after roughly 15 minutes and sustained minor cuts to her hands. No weapons, batons, tasers, or pepper spray were used.
The Claims And Damages Sought
Dunlap-Banks filed suit on October 25, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The case, Dunlap-Banks v. City of Fayetteville, et al., No. 5:22-cv-00425, named the city, the police department, Officer Haddock, Detective Bell, and unidentified “John and Jane Does.” Chief Gina Hawkins was initially named but was terminated as a defendant early in the proceedings.
The complaint brought nine counts. Three were federal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: false arrest and unlawful seizure under the Fourth Amendment, excessive force under the Fourth Amendment, and First Amendment retaliation for recording police. The state law claims were false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, negligent execution of official duties, and trespass. A ninth count alleged negligent hiring, training, and supervision against the city.
Dunlap-Banks sought $75,000 in damages, along with compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, attorneys’ fees, and costs. Her legal team was led by Atlanta-based civil rights attorney Harry Daniels, with co-counsel Xavier Torres de Janon of Johnson & Nicholson, PLLC, and Carnell Johnson.
Her attorneys framed the case in racial terms, noting that Dunlap-Banks is Black and the officers who detained her are white. At a news conference, Daniels said, “I firmly believe that if she was a different color, this would’ve never happened.” Daniels also disputed the department’s stated justification for the stop, saying radio traffic his team obtained suggested the person officers were searching for “was 20 miles away.” The department maintained the encounter happened half a mile from where a potentially violent suspect had fled.
Was There An Appeal
The court docket shows no appeal filed after the December 2024 ruling. The last docket activity was in April 2025, when the court noted that exhibits had been disposed of after counsel failed to retrieve them. With no appeal on file and the case closed at the district court level, the summary judgment ruling stands as the final disposition.