Private investigator David McNeely has filed a lawsuit against the Sparks Police Department (SPD), the City of Sparks, and the officers involved in the controversial TrackerGate case.
The lawsuit contends that the defendants violated McNeely’s constitutional rights, particularly his First and Fourth Amendment rights to privacy and protection against unlawful searches and seizures.
The complaint asserts that the officers’ actions were a result of inadequate training, contending that proper instruction in fundamental principles of search and seizure and safeguarding private information would have prevented the incident.
The lawsuit also alleges deliberate and wrongful conduct by the Sparks police, asserting that they compromised police protocol to sensationalize a story involving a public figure, Reno City Mayor Hillary Schieve. Furthermore, the complaint claims that the defendants misused administrative subpoenas to unlawfully acquire information about McNeely’s private investigation and tracking of Schieve.
It emphasizes that the defendants bypassed constitutional requirements for obtaining and disseminating McNeely’s information, lacking probable cause for a search warrant. Despite the detectives concluding that McNeely acted lawfully during his investigation of Mayor Schieve, the complaint contends that the willful and unlawful dissemination of his identity as a private citizen caused irreparable harm to McNeely’s life and livelihood by violating their obligation to keep the identity of a private citizen engaging in lawful conduct anonymous.
The lawsuit, filed as a Monell action in U.S. District Court, holds the SPD, the City of Sparks, and individual officers accountable for violating McNeely’s constitutional rights. Each defendant is alleged to have participated in or authorized the unconstitutional conduct, resulting in financial ruin, humiliation, and the destruction of McNeely’s life and livelihood.
Las Vegas Attorney Sigal Chattah is representing McNeely.
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