It was only five years ago that Kentucky cop Doug Ullrich wrote an opinion piece for the local newspaper, proclaiming to “stand against abuse of power” as well as claiming to stand for “justice and equality.” But since then, the Covington police officer has been sued five times for abusin g his power, earning a reputation for targeting Black people, according to the most recent lawsuit filed against him last week. “Ullrich has a long history of profiling African Americans,” states the lawsuit filed in federal court by Kentucky attorney Jamir A. Davis, who is based out of Covington, a city with a population of 40,000 people, 11 percent of whom are Black. “Ullrich has a long history of wrongfully accusing African Americans of being intoxicated or smelling like marijuana as a means of initiating unconstitutional searches.” Kentucky police officer Doug Ullrich, far right, is being sued for the fifth time in five years after he falsely accused a Black man named Damien Conner of smelling like marijuana to justify pulling him out of his car during a minor traffic stop for using his phone while driving. (Photo: Body camera and Facebook/Covington Police Department) That is exactly what the cop did to Damien Conner on Sept. 23, 2024, a Black man who was driving to work when he was pulled over by Ullrich for using his phone while driving, which is punishable by a $25 fine for first-time offenders. And that is exactly what he has done to five other citizens who will likely be added as defendants to the current lawsuit, said Jamir Davis, the attorney representing Conner, in a telephone interview with Atlanta Black Star. “I have his personnel file and man, it is egregious, it is bad,” Davis said, providing Atlanta Black Star with a full copy of the records. “The guy has over 209 pages worth of personnel records. He’s wrecked probably 15 vehicles and been found at fault for over nine wrecks.”  “He’s sent text messages to other officers stating, ‘I don’t follow policy.’ He’s improperly handled evidence against the orders of his supervisor.” “And his thing now is to immediately come up to a vehicle and say he smells weed, just so that he can search it and a lot of times he’s not finding anything.” Davis said Conner works for the railroad and gets drug tested on a regular basis and has never failed a test, so it was a shock to him when he was accused of smoking marijuana. The lawsuit states that Conner was compliant with Ullrich by handing over his driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance, which the officer then took back to his patrol car to check Conner for any warrants, which he did not have. However, Ullrich called for backup. Covington police officer Anthony Fritsch responded. Fritsch is listed along with Ullrich in at least one of his previous lawsuits.  Ullrich then walked back to Conner’s car and asked if he had a gun in the car.  Conner, who is a registered gun owner, was taken aback by the question because it was irrelevant to the traffic stop, so he told the cop he was not answering any questions because he needed to get to work. But that angered Ullrich, who then ordered Conner to remove his seatbelt and step out of the car. “I don’t want to have to rip you out of the car and take you to jail, so take your seat belt off,” Ullrich threatened.  “What are you taking me to jail for?” Conner asked. “I’m telling you I don’t want to, so take your seat belt off,” Ullrich says. “I don’t want to get out of my car, stop, this is against my will,” Conner responded. That was when Ullrich informed Conner he was being arrested and proceeded to handcuff both his wrists while he was still sitting in the driver’s seat.  He then tried to yank the Black man out of his car through the open window, but he was strapped to his seat by his seatbelt, which the cop then cut off him. Eventually, Ullrich and Fritsch opened the door and pulled the Black man out. “Why am I being arrested?” asked Conner. “For refusing to get out of the car,” Ullrich responded. “Why do I have to get out of my car for a ticket?” Conner asked. “Because your car stinks like weed,” the cop claimed. “I don’t smoke weed,” responded Conner. “I work for the railroad. I can’t smoke weed.” Watch the video below: False Charges and Coverup Ullrich informed Conner he was being arrested for obstruction for refusing to step out of the car, placing the Black man in his patrol car while he then searched through his car, finding the gun – but not finding any weed. “Look at this, a gun, just as I thought,” he said to himself after finding the gun enclosed in a zippered pouch, apparently believing Conner was not legally allowed to possess a gun. However, Conner is a legal gun owner and had every right to be in possession of the gun, which was why he was never charged with any gun-related crimes. Nevertheless, he spent the night in jail on charges of obstruction and resisting arrest. Those charges were dismissed, according to the lawsuit, which accuses Ullrich of using excessive force, assault, battery, negligence, as well as intentionally inflicting emotional distress. The lawsuit also names Col. Brian Valenti, the department’s police chief, as the one who allowed Ullrich to continue working as a police officer despite his troubled history. The lawsuit accuses the chief of covering up for Ullrich. “Valenti was personally involved in the constitutional deprivation of plaintiff’s constitutional rights by participating in the act of covering up evidence and not properly preserving phone text messages and witness statements in an attempt to criminally charge plaintiff,” the claim states.  “Valenti was personally involved in a sufficient casual connection of plaintiff’s constitutional rights by their approval of fabricated and factious police incident reports. Valenti was reckless and had a callous indifference for the rights of plaintiff.” Ullrich’s Op-Ed Ullrich, who was hired by the Covington Police Department in 2011, wrote an opinion piece for River City News in 2020 in the wake of the George Floyd protests which were happening throughout the country at the time, raising awareness about the injustices of the legal system especially how it affects Black people. “I am a white police officer in a large department in an urban area. I can no longer sit idly by without offering my thoughts and feelings on the events across the country,” Ullrich wrote to begin his opinion piece. He went on to write that the Covington Police Department was different from other agencies who regularly make the news for abusing their power. “I have never seen overtly racist actions by my brothers or sisters in my department. In fact, I believe that my department is on the leading edge of ‘doing it right.’” He also acknowledged the racial issues that affect Black people in this country on a daily basis. “I will never know what it is like to be Black, to be a woman, to be disadvantaged, to be in a place where I felt the need to fear the police,” he wrote.  “I hope that I can continue to grow, but know that I can’t ever fully comprehend what it is like for someone who is not me.” And like most people in the country at the time, he claimed to support the protesters demonstrating against the murder of George Floyd by concluding his article with the following: I stand with, and for, George Floyd. I stand with protesters. I stand against hate. I stand against abuse of power. I stand with the police. I stand for love. I stand for you.I stand, as firmly and as evenly as I can, for justice and equality. Prior Lawsuits The sentiment he expressed in the op-ed was short-lived, however, because the following year he was sued twice for the first time in his 10-year, which was followed by three more lawsuits over the next four years, including this one. Three of those lawsuits remain pending, one has been closed and another is in the appeal process, according to local media. “Of the five civil lawsuits filed against Ullrich since 2021, four claimed that Ullrich searched or arrested them after allegedly smelling marijuana in a car,” according to WCPO. Atlanta Black Star reached out to the Covington Police Department for comment but the police officer who answered the phone said, “no comment” and a call to the city attorney went unreturned.  But a spokesperson from the city sent local media a statement saying they are confident they will defeat the latest lawsuit. “After reviewing all evidence related to this traffic stop, the City intends to use all its resources to strongly defend its officers and its department in court against these false and ridiculous accusations made by attorney Jamir Davis,” the statement reads. “We are confident we will win not only in the court of law but also in the court of public opinion.” However, Davis, the attorney representing Conner, is even more confident now that Ullrich’s history is being exposed to the court of public opinion. “The guy is out of control, and he needs to be stopped,” he said. ‘It Is Egregious’: Kentucky Cop Who Claimed to ‘Stand Against Abuse of Power’ Is Sued for Fifth Time In Five Years for Yanking Black Man Out of Car During Minor Traffic Stop ...read more read less