Motorist receives $40,000 settlement after police officer tickets her for having HIV

'Honestly, if it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would have wrote anybody for anything'

The officer said that he “did not want to take any diseases home to his family” (Getty)

Shalandra Jones will receive $40,000 from the city of Dearborn, Michigan.

The Detroit motorist sued the city in 2012 after police officer David Lacey became angry about the woman’s HIV status.

During a routine traffic stop, Lacey discovered medical marijuana in the woman’s car, along with an expired medical marijuana card. He then berated Ms Jones when she finally told him she was HIV positive.

The officer said that he “did not want to take any diseases home to his family” and that “Dearborn does not have that many people living with HIV, and the police do not like people with HIV,” the Detroit Free Press reported.

The officer than told Ms Jones: "Honestly, if it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would have wrote anybody for anything. But that kind of really aggravated me. You know what I mean? You got to tell me right away Because at that time, I wasn’t wearing any gloves."

The outlet reports that people are not required to tell police whether or not they are HIV positive. The marijuana charge against Ms Jones was eventually dropped.

Dearborn spokeswoman Mary Laundroche told the Press that she believed the officer’s actions are not “reflective of the behavior of our police department.”

Officer Lacy is still employed by the Dearborn Police Department and has not faced disciplinary action.