NC man claims in lawsuit Horry County officers searched, arrested him without just cause

A North Carolina man said in a lawsuit that officers with the Horry County Police Department wrongfully arrested him after a traffic stop in 2019.

Antonio Johnson-Fulwood, of Brunswick County, claims he was pulled over and searched for no reason as he was following the rules of the road prior to the traffic stop November 2019.

A message to a Horry County Police spokesperson seeking comment Tuesday afternoon was not immediately returned.

It is not clear what Johnson-Fulwood was charged with.

He was detained and his car was searched during the stop on Nov. 1. His legs were in double-locked leg irons and arrested, according to the suit, which was filed March 6.

Johnson-Fulwood was “improperly profiled” and targeted with “malicious intent,” the suit alleges.

The criminal proceedings were dismissed, but the accusation made against Johnson-Fulwood damaged his reputation, the suit said.

He was “subjected to torment, intimidation, harassment, and unlawful detainment that caused him to suffer mental anguish, physical and mental abuse and fear,” the suit said.

Johnson-Fulwood had filed another wrongful arrest suit against the department in September 2019, but it was dismissed.