Nov 6, 2021 4 min read

A Bentleyville woman is suing state police in federal court claiming she was subjected to a “degrading roadside strip search” without a warrant following a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Washington County earlier this year.

Holly Elish accused Trooper Brian Rousseau of initiating the traffic stop on May 27 over a “minor traffic violation,” and then demanding that police be able to search her car, before she was eventually required to undergo a full body search by a female trooper on the side of the highway.

Rousseau is the only trooper named in the federal lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Pittsburgh, but one female and two male troopers from the state police barracks in Washington County are also listed as defendants, although they are not identified in court documents.

Elish said Rousseau began closely following her vehicle on the interstate in his marked police car, but did not immediately stop her. Elish eventually put her hazard lights on to indicate that she thought she was being pulled over, but the trooper didn’t stop her and she eventually exited at an unidentified interchange in South Strabane. The trooper then turned on his emergency lights to initiate the traffic stop and Elish pulled over to the shoulder.

After Elish gave the trooper her license and vehicle documents, Rousseau demanded he be permitted to search her vehicle, according to the lawsuit. When Elish refused, Rousseau allegedly responded that “he had the right to search her vehicle,” the lawsuit claims. When other troopers arrived at the traffic stop, Elish said she became concerned and eventually allowed police to search the vehicle because she was “under duress and coercion,” according to court documents.

Troopers did not find anything suspicious, such as drugs or weapons, prompting Rousseau and two male troopers to have a private conversation with the female trooper, according to the lawsuit. At that point, Elish was required to stand behind a state police vehicle along the side of the highway as the female patted down her body and then asked her to remove her pants and underwear to perform a more invasive search, the lawsuit claims.

“I’m sorry. This is the worst part of my job,” the female trooper allegedly told Elish. “Do you know why they want me to do this?”

Elish responded that she did not know the reason she was pulled over or why the search was occurring, and that she was merely heading from work to pick up her child. The female trooper then ended the body search and told Elish she could leave.

Elish’s Pittsburgh-based attorney, Alec Wright, said the female trooper should be lauded for ending the search, which he claimed troopers did not have a warrant or even probable cause to begin.

“Thankfully, she’s the one who shut this down and stopped it,” Wright said. “Once she realized what was happening was degradation … by these male troopers, she shut it down. I’m very thankful for her doing that.”

Elish, 34, eventually received a citation for driving 5 miles per hour over the 55 mph speed limit. But Rousseau did not show up for her July 28 hearing, and District Judge Michael Manfredi found Elish not guilty, according to court documents.

The lawsuit claims Elish faced humiliation and mental anguish, among other issues, and accuses state police of violating her Fourth Amendment rights by illegally detaining her and searching her vehicle and body. The lawsuit requests unspecified compensation and legal feels.

A spokesman for the state police directed questions to the department’s lawyers in Harrisburg, although they could not be reached for comment Friday.

Wright said the lawsuit should send a message that police cannot act without warrants or probable cause, and should only perform strip searches in the most extreme cases.

“Strip searches are just so degrading,” he said. “It’s really a personal thing.”