A Georgia woman was arrested after police found a "blue crystal-like substance" in her car and it tested positive for methamphetamine. She spent three months in jail, only for a lab test to confirm that she didn't have drugs, just cotton candy, reports The Washington Post. Now, she's suing.
Dasha Fincher was pulled over on New Years Eve in 2016 in Monroe County, Georgia, because officers believed her window tint was too dark. They discovered it wasn't but searched the car and found the blue substance. Fincher told the officers it was cotton candy, but they didn't believe her and administered a test which falsely identified the substance as meth. She was arrested and charged with meth trafficking and possession of meth with intent to distribute, per USA Today.
Lab tests proved the substance was not meth in March 2017, but Fincher wasn't released until nearly two weeks after that, according to CNN. Fincher filed a lawsuit against Monroe County, the deputies who arrested her and the company that made the roadside drug test, claiming the sheriff's office "violated her civil rights" and the officers were not properly trained to identify drugs or administer the test, reports USA Today.
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Fincher spent her time in jail in disbelief and was scared her granddaughter would forget her, she told CNN. "At first I kept thinking I was going to get out, then the next day came, and I'd think, 'Maybe I'll get out tomorrow. Then tomorrow turned into the next day," she said.
Fincher missed the birth of twin grandchildren while in jail. She hopes the lawsuit will lead to more drug test training for officers and bring her closure, she told CNN. Monroe County Sheriff's office did not respond to requests for comment.
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