Photo: Getty Images
Newly released body camera footage shows the moment a group of Georgia deputies searched the bus carrying the Delaware State University Women's Lacrosse Team.
Earlier this week, members of the HBCU sports team and community spoke out after the bus was stopped in Liberty County, Georgia on April 20 while traveling back to campus from an away game in Florida.
The team reported officers told the bus driver they were being stopped for improperly being in the left lane. Deputies boarded the bus and asked the student-athletes to speak up if they had narcotics in their bags.
On Tuesday (May 10), Liberty County Sheriff William Bowman denied racial profiling allegations, but the body-worn cameras tell a different story.
"It gives me a sense of relief so that everybody else can see what they did to us and how we felt in that moment," rising DSU junior Sydney Anderson told NBC News.
"They were searching through our belongings and luggage for 20 minutes," Anderson said. "I remember them going through my friend's [luggage] and she was saying, 'That's my bag,' and they were looking through her panties."
While on the bus, one deputy told the team, "I'm not looking for a little bit of marijuana, but I'm pretty sure you guys' chaperones are probably gonna be disappointed in you if we find any."
DSU President Tony Allen released a statement on Monday (May 9) stating that the University will not incident go and is exploring all options.
The Delaware Attorney General has reportedly asked the Department of Justice to investigate the incident.
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