After being accused of stealing AirPods in high school, a woman files a federal civil rights lawsuit
A woman who was wrongfully accused of stealing AirPods in high school filed a $20 million civil rights lawsuit against an Illinois city and two officers.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — A 21-year-old woman who was accused and cleared of stealing AirPods from a classmate while she was in high school has filed a $20 million civil rights discrimination lawsuit against the city of Naperville and two members of its police department.
The lawsuit filed May 21 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, seeks damages for the pain and suffering Amara Harris experienced as she worked to clear her name over three years, while her case worked its way through the judicial system.
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It also claims Harris, who is Black, was the victim of a law enforcement system that disproportionately cites Black students for minor infractions.
Amara Harris.Adrienne Broaddus / NBC NewsHer ordeal began in 2019 when she was a junior at Naperville North High School in suburban Chicago and noticed her AirPods were missing. She retraced her steps back to a table where she had been sitting in the Learning Commons, a space where students gather before class.
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