LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) A man and his young grandson have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging Dona Ana County Sheriff's deputies unjustly ordered them out of a vehicle at gunpoint and illegally searched them. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the complained filed last week in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces says the search occurred when Mike Castro and his then-8-year-old grandson were rabbit hunting in 2001 on a private road.
A video of the stop reportedly recorded a deputy saying a rifle had been seen pointing outside Castro's vehicle's window. Court documents say Castro had no weapons and the boy had a BB rifle. The complaint says then-Sgt. Jon Day struck Castro twice when he asked why they were being searched.
Sheriff's department spokeswoman Kelly Jameson declined to comment.
