Jan 07, 2009 - 23:05:09 CST
GRAND FORKS (AP) - An attorney for a man forced to stand in dangerously cold weather during a Grand Forks traffic stop says he has filed a civil rights complaint with the Justice Department.Attorney Tom Omdahl says his client, Jason Hickman, was singled out by police because he is black.
Omdahl said he filed a complaint with the Justice Department shortly after the incident last February.
Grand Forks Police Chief John Packett says his department will send its response in the next few days. He says the department is cooperating.
One police officer was convicted of reckless endangerment and another pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in the incident. Both were sentenced to community service and probation.
Hickman said the two officers left him in the cold for more than 20 minutes with no coat or hat after his friend was stopped for speeding, and that he suffered frostbitten ears.
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