A Southfield man has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Lathrup Village Police Department, as well as an officer who he says is dating his ex-girlfriend.

Jeffrey Pillow said in an interview that Lathrup Village Police Officer Mike Gorbe illegally stopped a vehicle he was riding in and illegally searched him in the parking lot of a MetroPCS store in Lathrup Village in December 2008.

Pillow was subsequently arrested and held for several days, despite the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office initially saying they did not want to place him in jail.

The incident began in June of that year when, Pillow said, Gorbe pulled over Pillow’s ex-girlfriend for driving with a suspended license.

The ex-girlfriend called Pillow, who asked a co-worker to drive him to pick her up. When they arrived, the driver asked the ex-girlfriend why she was not arrested.

“She said, ‘The officer hit on me,’ ” Pillow said.

The officer, Gorbe, subsequently said, “If I don’t call you, one of my friends on the force is going to call you,” the ex-girlfriend told Pillow.

Gorbe began calling Pillow in December, leading up to the incident that led to the lawsuit, Pillow said.

On Dec. 30, 2008, Gorbe turned around to follow the vehicle Pillow was in and, after the vehicles were parked at MetroPCS, approached the passenger side with his gun drawn, the lawsuit states.

Gorbe immediately handcuffed Pillow and searched him. During the search, Gorbe pulled Pillow’s pants down to his ankles and made him “stand in the parking with his pants around his ankles, for a considerable period of time,” the lawsuit states.

Pillow said Gorbe told him that the vehicle was illegally parked in a handicap spot. He remained on the scene for about an hour before taking Pillow to jail.

“He kept my cousin in the car for an hour with the damn windows down,” Pillow said. “He never gave her a ticket because she wasn’t in a handicap spot.”

Pillow didn’t realize the officer was the same man who had been calling him until he was placed in the patrol car.

“Sitting in the car, he got my license and said, ‘You’re Jeffrey Pillow,’ ” Pillow said.

“I put two and two together and said, ‘You’re the guy that’s been calling me.’ “

Gorbe is accused of removing Pillow’s ID and $652 in cash from his wallet. Gorbe learned that there was an active “hold” order for Pillow from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. Before transferring Pillow to someone else to transport him to jail, Gorbe performed another search. This time, Gorbe said he found marijuana in between the seats of his patrol car.

“Instead of going down Woodward and taking me to jail, they stopped for five minutes,” Pillow said.

“Gorbe comes out. He had a bag full of marijuana, and he said he found it up under the (patrol) car seats. (I thought), ‘Your dumb (expletive) searched me before you put me in the car.’ “

Pillow was searched yet again at Oakland County Jail, where he was “wrongfully detained … after (Pillow) posted bond, at the request of … Gorbe,” the lawsuit states.

Pillow said he was detained in jail for 11 days after posting bond.

The suit accuses Gorbe of handcuffing, arresting, strip searching and cavity searching Pillow without probable cause of reasonable suspicion.

He also is accused of making false police reports and false statements to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office “for the purpose of incarcerating (Pillow), having (Pillow) subject to humiliations, such as a strip search and cavity search, and having (Pillow) charged with possession of marijuana, all of which were untrue, unjustified and without probable cause, reasonable suspicion or any lawful justification.”

Pillow’s attorney, Paul Valentino, is seeking a judgment in excess of $75,000 for his client, along with court costs, interest and attorney fees.

In a court filing, the Lathrup Village Police Department and Gorbe denied most of Pillow’s claims.

“We really don’t have any comment,” Lathrup Village Police Chief William Armstrong said. “We think it’s unfounded, but it’s ongoing.”

Contact staff writer Dave Phillips at 248-745-4631 or dave.phillips@oakpress.com. Follow him on Twitter @dave_phillips1.

Originally Published: October 7, 2012 at 5:50 AM EDT