A civil lawsuit filed by a man who said he was assaulted by Marshall Police officers in the Sonic Drive-In parking lot recently was dismissed by the court.
According to online court documents, Harlan Fletcher named the manager of Sonic- who called police to the scene after seeing Fletcher slumped over in his vehicle; the restaurant; the city of Marshall; two Marshall Police officers; and Police Chief Mike Donnell in the lawsuit filed on October 30, 2017.
According to a release from the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Fletcher repeatedly invoked his Fifth-Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions related to his possession and use of drugs on the day of the incident.
On January 25, 2019, the court issued an order holding that both under state and federal law, Fletcher could not continue his lawsuit and refuse to answer questions. The court gave Fletcher until February 1 to choose between answering questions or having his case dismissed with prejudice.
On February 1, the case was dismissed by the court with prejudice- meaning it cannot be refiled.