Nate Allen lawyers plan to sue FMPD

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FORT MYERS, Fla.- Lawyers for Nate Allen spoke out about the NFL player’s detainment in Southwest Florida and say they will sue the department.

A detective and sergeant were recently suspended from the Fort Myers Police Department, after an Internal Affairs investigation found they made major mistakes when detaining Allen in February.

FMPD officers first stopped Allen on U.S. 41 back in February. Allen was detained, accused of exposing himself to a 16-year-old girl.

Lawyer Sawyer Smith called the department’s action the day Allen was detained “incompetent,” and wants change to come from the top.

Smith was joined by Allen, and the NFL star’s family at a press conference Friday morning.

The Allen family says their goal is to bring change to the community, starting with FMPD.

As the internal investigation showed, things went wrong from the beginning.

Officers detained Allen on the wrong state law, meaning he should never have been taken into custody.

Allen was held for five hours. There are questions about when senior officers found out a mistake had been made, and when the decision was actually made to let Allen go.

Smith is asking for an outside agency to come in and investigate the department.

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