Woman sues police, alleging officers used excessive force in incident caught on video
A Los Angeles-area woman is suing the police in the tony San Diego suburb of Carlsbad, California, alleging they beat her because she had threatened to report an officer’s use of foul language.
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday on the lawsuit by Cindy Hahn of Valencia, now 43, and her husband. The San Diego Union-Tribune has prior coverage. A bystander caught the incident on camera.
In her complaint (PDF), filed Oct. 2, Hahn alleges that she was leaving a birthday party in July of 2013 with her children, then 7 and 11, when she saw Carlsbad police officer Kenyatte Valentine standing in front of a car alarm. When she asked what he was doing, he told her “Mind your [expletive] business.” Hahn, the daughter of a reserve police officer, called the non-emergency line of the Carlsbad Police Department to report the language.
As she drove away, Hahn was pulled over for a seat belt violation by the same officer, the complaint says. Valentine asked her to get out of the car. Then, the lawsuit says, Valentine “began attacking her in front of her children who were in the back seat of the car.”
Two additional police cars arrived shortly after, and a second officer, Jody Knisley, joined in the attack. The video seems to show Knisley punching Hahn in the face. Hahn was later diagnosed with a concussion.
No seat belt ticket was ever issued to Hahn, but she was charged with felony resisting arrest and battery on a police officer. Those charges were dismissed, a spokesman for the San Diego District Attorney’s office said, because they could not be proven. The complaint alleges the charges were dismissed after prosecutors saw the video.
Hahn was unable to sue until the charges were dismissed; she sued in state court in January of 2014. The case was moved to federal court this month. Her attorney, Mark Geragos, told the Union-Tribune that the case might have been ignored if it weren’t for the video, which was uncovered by an investigator he hired.
The lawsuit alleges the police are responsible for excessive force civil rights violations, negligence, battery, false testimony and false police reports.
The video:
