At the time of the search, [Bottom] was at the front of her vehicle and unable to reach her vehicle or purse, the lawsuit alleges. Police officers then approached her with guns drawn and grabbed her by her arm and hair, pulling her out of her car and throwing her onto the ground. When she realized officers were following her, she tried to pull over 'somewhere safe where Id be around lights and people,' but she alleges spike strips were used to stop her car instead. 2. She then looked for a safe place to pull over until spike strips were deployed to stop her. Nationwide Stephanie Bottom, a 68-year old Black woman from Raleigh, North Carolina, has filed a lawsuit claiming that police officers used excessive force on her during a traffic stop two years ago that caused her severe injuries. 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Officers forced her to lay face down on the ground and twisted her arm behind her back, causing her shoulder to pop, tearing her rotator cuff and causing severe injury, the lawsuit said, according to CNN. Access this case on the North Carolina Middle District Court's Electronic Court Filings (ECF) System. During this time, Bouk is heard on the body camera footage saying, Thats good police work baby to other officers, according to the suit. Check out Bay Area safety tracker, Tracking the drought: Map shows conditions across SF Bay Area, Artemis Moshtaghian, Melissa Alonso and Amanda Jackson, Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7. Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. "Once it became clear they wanted her to pull over she was afraid and was looking for a safe place to pull over," Holmes told CNN in an email. 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Our complaint alleges these officers had no reason to use any force, much less the level of force they employed, attorney Ian Mance told the Observer. Stephanie Bottom. By Stephanie Hubler | Feb. 23 Send According to the lawsuit, Bottom did not believe she was driving fast and did not think the police were trying to stop her. 'Within five seconds of arriving at her drivers side door with guns drawn, Defendants Benfield and Barkalow grabbed Plaintiff by her arm and hair and threw her from her Toyota Sequoia to the ground,' the lawsuit says. PO Box 309 The officers are then seen pinning both of her arms behind her back to put handcuffs on Bottom. They have also lived in Willow Spring, NC and Raleigh, NC. 6:10 AM EDT, Wed April 28, 2021, Police pull Black woman by hair, injure her shoulder in traffic stop. We've received your submission. She is now suing the police officers who were involved in her arrest, Bottom complains repeatedly during the arrest about the cops hurting her, 'Ms. A Salisbury police officer involved in the stop, allegedly Devin Barkalow, 'bragged about "grabbing a handful of dreads", and said "at that point she earned it",' the lawsuit said, citing footage from the officer's body camera. 'White privilege and entitlement:' NC city official fired after refusing to address woman by doctoral title. Web22 records for Stephanie Bottoms. See the links below for more info. A Black woman was allegedly grabbed by the hair and pulled out of her SUV by North Carolina police during a traffic stop in 2019 after she was driving 10 miles per hour over the speed limit and failed to stop for law enforcement, according to a civil lawsuit filed last week. Stephanie Bottom is suing the police over her arrest in May 2019 which left her with a torn rotator cuff. We are a certified North Carolina Small Business. 'Our complaint alleges these officers had no reason to use any force, much less the level of force they employed. WebStephanie Smith is a student in the MBA program at North Carolina Central University . The force applied by the officers caused Bottom's "shoulder to 'pop,' tearing her rotator cuff and causing severe injury," according to the lawsuit. Officers Barkalow and Bouk picked up by her arms, inflicting additional pain to her shoulder, forced her to stand and put her in the back of a patrol car, according to the lawsuit. The comments below have been moderated in advance. WebStephanie Fields in North Carolina 47 people named Stephanie Fields found in Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point and 12 other cities. The lawsuit said she was listening to music loudly in her car at that time and she did not immediately realize she was being pulled over. The officers also say it could've been a simple traffic stop before putting the onus of the current incident on her. Lawsuit to be filed against police after Calif. man dies while being restrained by police. Stephanie Bottom was admittedly going 10 miles over the speed limit on May 30, 2019 in North Carolina. 23 South Carolina baseball team continued its unbeaten start to the 2023 season in an 11-3 victory over North Carolina A&T Tuesday afternoon at Founders Park. Bottom was charged with speeding and resisting arrest. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. I was just driving. of Idaho. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Bottom was peaceful at all times, and officers knew they were dealing with an elderly woman,' said Ian Mance, a lawyer with EmancipateNC who represents Bottom. May 11, 2021 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Policing. Prison is state-sponsored violence. Posted by 10 months ago. As officers search the car - which Bottom alleges she did not consent to - one explains that three police cars have been following her for around 10 miles, which Bottom agreed with, as officers explain how she was speeding. When she asked for medical assistance, she estimated that an hour elapsed before officers called for help, the lawsuit stated. Within seconds of arriving at her drivers side door, the officers grabbed Bottom by her arm and hair and pulled her from her vehicle to the ground, according to body camera footage. Some of those images can be seen immediately below: Bottom alleges the group of officers arrested her unreasonably when they grabbed [her] by her hair and threw her from her Toyota Sequoia to the ground., As a result, the librarian claims, she was seriously injured due to the excessive force of the arrest, which resulted in a tear to her rotator cuff in her shoulder. This injury, according to the lawsuit, required surgery, permanently scarring and limiting the use of [Bottoms] shoulder.. The grandmother of five says she was on her way to her aunts funeral when she was pulled over for allegedlygoing 80 mph in a 70 mph zone. The Observer obtained the video footage which shows Bottom, crying in handcuffs, asking what have I done wrong?. The second best result is Stephanie Marie Walls age 30s in Apex, NC. What have I done wrong?. All we had to do was write you a ticket and you turned it into this.. McElroy also declined to comment on the pending litigation. After the search, officers told Bottom to stand, but she said she couldn't due to the pain in her shoulder, according to the suit. Docket action in the case was quick, however, and there may not be much of any precedent as a result of the lawsuit. When she came to a stop, she says cops rushed toward her with guns drawn. She is seeking punitive damages, compensatory damages, attorneys fees and other costs from the state defendantsas well as injunctive and declaratory relief that prohibits similar treatment against citizens in the future based on the idea that the officers actions were in violation of the Fourth Amendments prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. The lawsuit filed Wednesday by Stephanie Bottom of Atlanta says she posed no threat to officers from the Salisbury Police Department and the Rowan County Maam, there were three police cars behind you for about 10 miles, one of the officers replied. WebYou can view 1 entry, complete with personal details, location history, phone numbers, relatives and locations for Stephanie Workman. Stephanie F. Newby is a Neurologist in Charlotte, NC. The Gamecocks responded in the bottom of the seventh with sacrifice plays by Petry and sophomore catcher Talmadge LeCroy. Emancipate NC was founded on the knowledge that mass incarceration and structural racism harm all of us. Did you encounter any technical issues? Rowan County Sheriffs Office and Salisbury Police Department must hold the individuals in the video accountable. It also claims that the officers congratulated one other for their work and an officer identified in the lawsuit as Barkalow is heard bragging about grabbing a "handful of dreads," saying "at that point she earned it.". The just-released body cam video shows police pulling Stephanie Bottom by her arm and hair from her car and handcuffing heron the side of the highway. 'I was getting ready to die. Another angle appears to show an officer grabbing Bottom by her hair when yanking her from the car. She also admits to going 10 miles over the speed limit, which was 70mph, meaning she was driving around 80mph. Bottom said all of the arresting officers were white. She pleads for help, saying she has an injured shoulder. Bottom was peaceful at all times, and officers knew they were dealing with an elderly woman, said Ian Mance, a lawyer with EmancipateNC who is representing Bottom, according to CBS News. The other officers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Stephanie Bottom was driving on May 30, 2019, along Interstate 85 from Georgia to North Carolina to attend her great aunt's funeral, her attorney Scott Holmes told CNN on Tuesday. Bottom insists to the white officers that she was unaware she was being told to pull over due to loud music in her car. Emancipate NC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and was previously known as the Carolina Justice Policy Center. Officers Barkalow and Adam Bouk and Deputy Mark Benfield then quickly approached with their guns drawn. TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. 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