A judge has thrown out a Richmond woman’s $30 million lawsuit claiming civil rights violations by a Richmond Police officer and the city government after she was handcuffed during a traffic stop.

Retired Judge Joseph J. Ellis recently dismissed the year-old suit filed on behalf of Thelma N. Brown after upholding claims from the officer, Benjamin J. Frazer, and City Hall that they were immune from the lawsuit.

Judge Ellis of Spotsylvania County was appointed to hear the case after the Richmond Circuit Court judges asked the state Supreme Court to bring in an outside judge with no connections to the city.

The case stemmed from a nighttime traffic stop Nov. 19, 2018, on Midlothian Turnpike as Ms. Brown was driving home.

Officer Frazer, who is white, stopped Ms. Brown, who is African-American, and issued her two tickets, one for a defective headlight and the other for a defective taillight on her vehicle. Before writing the tickets, he handcuffed her when she got out of the car.

The tickets ended up being dismissed in Richmond General District Court, and two attorneys, Christopher L. Anderson and David P. Baugh, filed the lawsuit in a bid to punish the officer and the city, but also, according to the suit, to encourage the city to “identify and develop strategies to actively discourage ... discriminatory practices and equal justice violations.”

The suit alleged that Ms. Brown was a prime example of the mistreatment police mete out to African-American motorists, including putting them in restraints.

The city argued that it could not be sued under the doctrine of sovereign immunity that generally bars individuals from suing a governmental entity unless that entity has agreed to be sued.

Officer Frazer also claimed that he was due qualified immunity that courts generally afford police for their actions while on duty.

In this case, Officer Frazer argued that he did not arrest Ms. Brown, but simply held her in detention for both her safety and his while he completed writing the tickets. He said he was simply following standard police protocol.