Taser lawsuit allowed to go to trial

July 16, 2008

A federal judge says a civil-rights lawsuit against three Seattle police officers can go to trial next month, ruling that the officers used excessive force when they Tasered a pregnant woman who refused to sign a traffic ticket in 2004.

U.S. District Judge Richard Jones ruled that a lawsuit filed against the officers by Malaika Brooks can go to trial July 7. The judge, however, dismissed the city, the Police Department and Chief Gil Kerlikowske from the lawsuit, saying there is insufficient evidence to show the incident sprang from improper training or the negligence of policymakers.

Jones noted in his ruling that he must consider the evidence in a light most favorable to Brooks but points out that there is little dispute about the facts surrounding the November 2004 traffic stop that led to the incident: Brooks, 34, was stopped for speeding in a school zone. When she refused to sign the citation the officers decided to arrest her. When voice commands didn’t work, court documents show, they used a “pain compliance” hold on her arm. When that didn’t work, Officer Donald Jones jolted the woman with a Taser three times “in rapid succession.” Brooks was seven months pregnant at the time.

Read Article The Seattle Times

Posted By Phoenix Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys