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Famed Professor Dr. Marc Lamont Hill is making headlines after filing a $1 million lawsuit against the Philadelphia police department for harassment.

Hill, who teaches at Columbia University and is a FOX News commentator, says he was harassed by Officer Richard DeCoatsworth.

In the lawsuit, Hill, 31, says he was dropping off a friend around 12:30 a.m. on June 12 when the officer and his partner pulled up behind him and motioned him to move.

Hill says he told officers he was dropping off a friend and they drove off without incident.

The lawsuit claims however that after Hill pulled away from the scene, officer’s pulled him over and ordered him to step out of the vehicle.

The professor says Officer DeCoatsworth dragged him out of the car by the left arm and searched the vehicle without a warrant.

He also says the officer and his partner asked him whether he could afford his vehicle and went through his checkbook.

The lawsuit adds that DeCoatsworth slammed Hill against his vehicle, pushed his fist into Hill’s back and threatened to take him to jail before letting him go without citation or arrest.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, DeCoatsworth is considered a local hero after being shot in the face by a suspect in 2007.

 

Hill claims that his constitutional rights were violated by “the City’s policies, procedures, customs and practices of allowing its officers to make stops without reasonable suspicion, and to use unreasonable and excessive force thereby violating the civil rights of those with whom they come into contact.”

He is seeking $1 million in damages.