BY JOHN BRICE
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
VALLEY — On Tuesday, May 6, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alabama filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on behalf of two LaFayette residents who claim their constitutional rights were violated by the Chambers County Board of Education, Chambers County, and the city of Valley as ell as multiple local officials and police officers.
Yolanda Ratchford and Tytianna Smith were arrested by Valley Police Department officers on charges of disorderly conduct during a Chambers County Board of Education meeting that was held at Langdale Auditorium on Nov. 15, 2023. Alleging a conspiracy to deprive the plaintiffs of their constitutional rights, the lawsuit names former CCSD Superintendent Casey Chambley, former CCBOE President Jeffery Finch, Valley Mayor Leonard Riley, Valley Police Chief Mike Reynolds and multiple VPD officers as defendants. Current CCSD Superintendent Sharon Weldon is also named in her official capacity along with the CCBOE, Chambers County and the city of Valley.
According to a press release posted on the official website for the ACLU of Alabama, [www.aclualabama.org], the lawsuit asserts that Ratchford and Smith were unjustly arrested and jailed for constitutionally protected speech.
According to the press release the plaintiffs silently displayed letter-sized pieces of paper including an image of civil rights icon John Lewis and the phrase “Good Trouble” during the school board meeting in Valley. “Their peaceful protest was part of ongoing community opposition to the school board’s plan to consolidate the county’s two public high schools into a new facility located in Valley, a predominantly white city, which would displace Black students and educators from LaFayette.”
ACLU of Alabama Legal Director Alison Mollman also was quoted in the release.
“Silently holding pieces of paper is not a crime. What happened to Ms. Ratchford and Ms. Smith is a clear and shocking abuse of power,” Mollman said. “These women were exercising their most basic constitutional rights—freedom of speech and peaceful protest—and they were punished for it.”
Also alleged in the lawsuit is the claim that senior local officials coordinated to restrict and punish protests. It is claimed that this conspiracy led to Ratchford and Smith’s arrest “without probable cause, public humiliation, and, in the case of Ratchford, who uses a wheelchair, a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Violations are alleged of the plaintiffs’ rights under the First and Fourth Amendments, the ADA and Alabama common law. Damages are being sought along with what are described as reasonable accommodations for wheelchair-bound persons to prevent future violations. Among the claims included in the lawsuit is that after the arresting officers from the VPD took the plaintiffs to the police station in Valley they failed to timely accommodate Ratchford’s need to a wheelchair accessible restroom.
The release also read that “Ratchford and Smith were fully acquitted of all charges in February 2024, with the presiding judge stating from the bench that if anyone had engaged in disorderly conduct, it was the officers who arrested them.”
“This case isn’t just about two leaders who were wrongfully arrested,” Mollman stated in the release. “It’s about whether public officials can weaponize law enforcement to silence dissent. Our message is clear: not on our watch.”
Requests for comments were made to Chambers County, the ACLU of Alabama and the city of Valley.
