A federal jury in Iowa awarded $105,000 to a former college student late last week after officers wrongfully arrested him for driving under the influence without probable cause. The award comes nearly four years since the Fourth Amendment-violating traffic stop went viral.
On a rainy night in August 2022, Tayvin Galanakis, a then-19-year-old member of the William Penn University football team, was stopped by officers in Newton, Iowa, for driving with his high beams on within city limits. Body camera footage of the stop shows Galanakis explain that he was using his high beams because one of his headlights was out and turning them off when other cars approached.
