For those wondering, "How could this happen?" Let me explain...as a 21 year LEO who's made drug cases using these test kits. ....
You make a traffic stop and see what appears to be suspected illegal drug(s) in the vehicle. In this case it was some amount of cotton candy in a bag. Now, I would like to think that the Deputies in question here could make an informed decision that a large, spherical, fluffy ball of "blue wispy filament" would certainly look just like cotton candy and let it go. But maybe instead it was a few weeks old and cotton candy tends to melt, and shrink down & crystallize after a while. Which means, now it looks like something other than cotton candy. As a matter of fact, it could have very well looked like a type of crystal meth or other narcotic.
So to be sure the officers simply test it using the department issued narcotics test kit, which is used nationwide by police in every jurisdiction, (local cops, State Offices & Federal agents) , and also accepted by Judges as Probably Cause on arrest/search warrants EVERY SINGLE DAY. Then....BAM, it tests positive for Meth....So the officers do what they are supposed to do, take them to jail, charge them with a criminal offense & send it off to the GBI crime lab for more intensive testing. Now, I know what some of ya'll are thinking......"shouldn't they have let them go & sent it off for testing first......then arrested them later if it tested positive?" Yes, that was an option. However, that's not the usual protocol because these field test kits are literally universally accepted as probable cause that the tested item is a type of narcotic. However, maybe this will help to change that protocol....
These officers and the department will be protected in the lawsuit by qualified immunity since they acted lawfully and were simply performing a function of their job duties. However, the company who makes the test kit may have to pay up....and it's always possible that Monroe County will simply offer a settlement to end the civil lawsuit. Either way, I could see how this could happen.....it just sounds like something stupid....just my 2 cents.