ALBUQUERQUE — Navajo basketball players singled out for a state police search during a high-school tournament in 2006 have settled their lawsuit against the state police for $95,000.

The civil-rights lawsuit filed in federal court in July 2007 by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico alleges the search violated the constitutional rights of nine high-school basketball players from the Navajo community of To'hajiilee. The lawsuit against the state Department of Public Safety contended officers conducted an unlawful search and seizure.

"We were very pleased with the settlement. We thought it fairly compensated the players for the civil-rights violations that they experienced. We are satisfied that the lawsuit made the point that state police officers need to have probable cause or consent before they search a person's belongings," said Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico.

A spokesman for DPS, Peter Olson, said he's prohibited by law from talking about any settlement agreement for six months. The case was settled earlier this month.

To'hajiilee and three other teams were sharing locker rooms during a high-school basketball tournament in Des Moines, N.M. A Temple Baptist High School coach reported items had been stolen from the team, but he didn't know who was responsible.

According to the lawsuit, the officers insisted on searching the belongings of the To'hajiilee team despite the Temple Baptist coach telling them that wasn't necessary. The lawsuit said officers did not have probable cause to believe any members of the To'hajiilee team had stolen anything or possessed any stolen items.

The lawsuit said the To'hajiilee team was the only one officers escorted off the court and the only one searched.

The officers' actions were "malicious and in utter disregard for plaintiffs' legal rights," the lawsuit alleged.

The case was set for trial next month before U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo, who ruled in late September that police were not entitled to have the lawsuit dismissed because there were enough facts in dispute to let a jury decide the claims.

"To'hajiilee players testified that as a result of the March 3, 2006, search, they felt 'humiliated, embarrassed, stressed out,' " the judge wrote.

Assistant coach Kelly Werito confirmed the players felt embarrassed and said the seniors, "for whom this 'really big game' marked the end of their high-school basketball careers, 'were the ones taking it the hardest,' " Armijo wrote.




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