It was after midnight when Georgia cops spotted a Black man doing his job by sweeping the exterior of a business in a strip shopping mall and arrested him for loitering and prowling after he refused to identify himself – which was his constitutional right considering officers had no reasonable suspicion he had committed a crime in the first place. The charge was dismissed several hours later when a lieutenant reviewed the arrest report and told officers they must release him because it was an unlawful arrest. His mugshot, however, is still posted online as if the charge is still pending. David Smiley, a Black man who was working sweeping the front of a grocery store after midnight, has sued the Glynn County Police Department in Georgia after he was unlawfully arrested for not identifying himself. (Photo: Bodycam footage and Facebook) Now David Smiley is suing the Glynn County Police Department over his unlawful arrest, accusing officers of violating his Fourth Amendment rights by unlawfully detaining, searching and arresting him as well as assault and battery, false imprisonment and failing to intervene when the commanding officer at the scene allowed the arrest to proceed. Defendants listed in the lawsuit are Glynn County police officers Kyle Gracia, Victor Ramirez and Kenneth Miller.  Smiley’s unlawful arrest shows how police in this country continue to use “Black Code” laws — which were created in the South during the Jim Crow era to oppress recently freed enslaved Black people — to target innocent Black people who have committed no crimes, including arresting Black people for loitering on their own property. Laws like loitering and failure to identify oneself stem from these Black Code laws, allowing law enforcement to incarcerate Black people on vague charges that can be manipulated by the arresting officer – especially during the days before video evidence became so prevalent. Last year, a Black woman was arrested in Alabama for failing to identify herself from her own home after she called police to complain about a neighbor’s loud music; a Black man was arrested in Maryland for “looking suspicious” after he was detained for walking down the street and refusing to identify himself and another Black man was arrested in Missouri for failing to identify himself after he was detained for recording in public. And then there was the viral story of a Black man arrested for failing to identify himself for watering his neighbor’s plants in Alabama. The recent lawsuit was filed in federal court on January 2 by attorney Roland Mumford and states the following: “Law enforcement officers in the state of Georgia cannot demand identification from citizens under a threat and/or consequences of arrest without reasonable and articulable of a crime being committed in the context of approaching a citizen such as plaintiff and in the circumstances as alleged above. “Plaintiff was subjected to unwarranted humiliation and indignation as his mugshot and/or arrest was posted online by third parties.”  Watch the body camera video of the arrest below. Unlawful Arrest The arrest took place on Dec. 5, 2023 as Smiley was working in front of a Cost Kutter grocery store in Brunswick, Georgia, “performing cleaning services to the exterior of the physical building,” the claim states. Body camera footage shows Smiley with a long broom cleaning the light fixtures in front of the grocery store. It also shows the arriving cop knew exactly what he was doing. “Cleaning?” Gracia asked and Smiley responded that he was cleaning. “You work for the store here?” the cop asked. “No, I work for my father,” Smiley responded. Officer Ramirez then asked what company he was working for and Smiley told him “D & B Sweepers” – a company that has been in existence for decades. But then the cops demanded his identification which he did not provide because he obviously knew his rights. “I’m working just like you guys,” Smiley responded. But the cops insisted he was loitering and prowling because the businesses were closed, oblivious to the fact that cleaning services often take place after business hours to avoid disrupting business. “I’m not loitering and prowling, I’m making an honest dollar. I haven’t done anything wrong,” Smiley said. According to the Georgia loitering and prowling law, the cops had no legal basis to arrest him because he was able to “dispel any alarm or immediate concern with would otherwise be warranted by requesting the person to identify himself and explain his presence and conduct.” In other words, police must use common sense in making these arrests, especially in this case where it should have been obvious to the cops he was working. The bodycam video shows Smiley was professional and made no attempt to hide or run as he explained what he was doing while holding a long broom in his hands. But the arrest report written by Gracia states the cop became suspicious because he spotted Smiley “waving what appeared to be some type of stick in the air in front of 72 Altama Avenue (Cost Kutter Grocery).” After handcuffing and placing Smiley in the back of a patrol car, police then turned to Smiley’s white girlfriend and demanded her identification, handcuffing her when she refused to provide it. But the report states they released her upon learning she was diabetic.  After transporting Smiley to the Glynn County Detention Center, a commanding officer took one look at the report and ordered him released. “On 12/05/2023 Sgt. Kruger had approved this report along with the warrant for Loitering and Prowling with a comma that needed to be taken out. Lt. Davis had took a second look at the report and advised we had no probable cause for Loitering and Prowling,” Officer Victor Ramirez wrote. “Lt. Davis told me to go drop the charge and take Mr. David Smiley to where he needs to go. I went to the Glynn County Detention Center around 0500 hrs to drop the charge where I was advised by the booking staff that he bonded out.” ‘I’m Not Doing Anything Wrong’: Georgia Cop Approaches Black Man While He’s Working, Arrests Him for Allegedly ‘Loitering and Prowling’ After He Stood His Ground and Refused to Provide ID