Unwarranted: Police search, embarrass naked Gaston County woman

Shalanda Ashe may never be the same after the trauma she said she suffered on her front porch.

Ashe is one of four people identified by WCNC Charlotte who have said police in the Carolinas embarrassed them in recent years after unwarranted searches left them exposed.

"Every morning when I open my eyes, that's what I remember," Ashe told WCNC Charlotte. "It was the most humiliating thing I've ever experienced."

On Feb. 28, 2022, the 40-year-old Black woman woke up shocked to find a task force of local police, a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation agent and even a member of the United States Secret Service outside her Gaston County home. The surprise visit and fear that came with it were exacerbated by the fact Ashe said she was undressed at the time.

"I'm thinking they're fixing to kick in my door," she said, afraid they would shoot her if officers saw her fumbling in her dresser looking for clothes. "I know I didn't do anything wrong, so I said, 'I'm going to open my door with my hands in the air; show them that I'm naked.'"

To read more about this, go to www.wcnc.com.