CA, LAPD Officer Held Liable for Rights Violation

OFF THE WIRE
Source: bhcourier.com

A Los Angeles woman was awarded $160,000 by a federal jury that determined a policeman acted recklessly by failing to loosen her handcuffs, despite pleas that she was in pain, attorneys announced today.

After a four-day trial, the Los Angeles civil jury unanimously determined that Los Angeles police Officer Jose Castaneda violated the civil and constitutional rights of Tesha Taylor-Ewing in 2006 when he handcuffed her too tightly and refused to loosen the cuffs for at least 30 minutes, causing nerve damage, according to plaintiff's attorney Jim DeSimone.

The jury on Friday awarded $160,000 in compensatory damages to Taylor-Ewing, 39, for medical bills, physical pain and emotional harm, the lawyer said.

"The jury's verdict restored my client's faith in the system after the officer ignored her cries of pain for 30 minutes and the LAPD investigation concluded the incident never happened,' DeSimone said. "The system worked and justice prevailed."

According to testimony before U.S. District Judge George H. King, Castaneda handcuffed Taylor-Ewing while questioning her about the vehicle she was lawfully driving.

Castaneda grabbed the woman, who works as a paralegal, by the wrist and clamped the cuffs down in an improper and excessively tight manner, DeSimone said.

At trial, witnesses confirmed that despite Taylor-Ewing repeatedly telling him she was in pain and asking him to loosen the handcuffs, the LAPD officer refused to do so, the attorney said.

Doctors testified that shortly afterward, Taylor-Ewing was diagnosed as suffering from radial sensory nerve neurapraxia, according to DeSimone.

In its unanimous verdict, the jury also found that Castaneda battered Taylor-Ewing, and that he acted with reckless disregard for her rights when he failed to loosen her handcuffs despite her pleas that she was in pain, the lawyer said.