How dumb is this!!! BS law suit!

[TonyMastodon]

Woman files civil complaint against Seattle officer in speeding case


A Seattle woman has filed a civil complaint against a Seattle police officer, his wife and the City of Seattle and the Seattle Police Department claiming she suffered physical pain and several emotional distress after he struck her with a metal object during a traffic stop.

An attorney for the woman, Linda Chau, said in court documents that on Aug. 12, 2007, officer James Campbell hailed her to stop in the 5200 block of Rainier Avenue South.

"As Ms. Chau was stopping her motorcycle, per Officer Campbell's command to stop, Officer Campbell struck Ms. Chau in the head with a metallic object, which was either the electronic speed measuring device or Officer Campbell's police baton," according to the complaint filed this month in U.S. District Court. "At the time Officer Campbell struck Ms. Chau, she was wearing her helmet, and Ms. Chau's motorcycle was still in motion."

That year, Chau filed a complaint with the department's Office of Professional Accountability. The complaint was sustained.

Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb did not comment on the pending litigation, citing department policy. He confirmed the OPA complaint was sustained.

Chau claims in court documents she did not put the officer's safety in jeopardy or demonstrate aggressive or offensive behavior.

The complaint claims the blow hurt Chau's head, neck and upper back, as well as damaging her helmet. It alleges Campbell used excessive force and that Chau, an Asian American, was treated unfairly because of her race and gender.

The complaint also claims some superior officers in the police department failed to adequately supervise Campbell.

Chau was found to have been speeding, according to Seattle Municipal Court records. A 2008 Seattle case for defective headlights was cleared as a warning.

She seeks general, actual and punitive damages in an amount to be proven at a trial, as well as other expenses.

Campbell, 45, was hired by the Seattle Police Department in April 1987.

 

[Pinky Winky]

I'm lost why do you think it is a BS lawsuit?

 

[Lycan]

Sounds like police brutality to me...abuse of power maybe?

And the sahrk commence to swimmmm...of course due to the chum..???

 

[k03gsxr750]

I don't get it, though it seems like would would have to take quite a hit through a helmet to be actually hurt for a length of time. Not enough information here to find any fault.

 

[Lycan]

I don't get it, though it seems like would would have to take quite a hit through a helmet to be actually hurt for a length of time. Not enough information here to find any fault.

Although seemingly outrageous, I would think the point to be, WHY did he do ANYTHING such as even tap her on the head...true shes probably just gold diggin', but WHY did he do something like that...had he not done it we wouldnt be reading about the lawsuit...nuff said...

 

[GPW]

It shows the complaint was sustained..meaning it was true, doubt the injury part but when you open the door, anything can walk in.

 

[afterhours]

she was speeding....
she did not stop....

she was close enough to the officer to be hit in the head?

does not sound right.....you are speeding down the road, cop signals you to pull over, you do not, you drive right by him close enough he can reach out and hit you.....

 

[Lycan]

It shows the complaint was sustained..meaning it was true, doubt the injury part but when you open the door, anything can walk in.

Yup. kinda what I was saying except more brief

 

[k03gsxr750]

she was speeding....
she did not stop....

she was close enough to the officer to be hit in the head?

does not sound right.....you are speeding down the road, cop signals you to pull over, you do not, you drive right by him close enough he can reach out and hit you.....

That's where I was at reading the story. I personally watched an R6 rider get a pen bounced off his one piece as he blew past a THP officer that stepped out onto the road to stop him at the gap last year. Were both a little out of line? Sure were, but I could understand the trooper's reaction.

 

[TonyMastodon]

was treated unfairly because of her race and gender.

thats the BS part... hes flagging her over for speeding and she rides with full gear and a full face... (ive met this girl a few times at a few bike nights).. how does race and gender come into this now?

 

[Dino]

was treated unfairly because of her race and gender.

thats the BS part... hes flagging her over for speeding and she rides with full gear and a full face... (ive met this girl a few times at a few bike nights).. how does race and gender come into this now?

I am with you on this part but it is a catch all. So the lawyer throws it in. Problem is, it has been a legitimate factor too many times so now everone tries to get on the bandwagon.

 

[TruWrecks]

Yep, BS because you can tell very little about race or color when in full gear while the bike is still moving. Also, hitting someone's helmet hard enough to cause head, neck and back injuries would have damaged the helmet enough to need replacement, and knock her off the bike.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

I agree that the gender/race component is likely just a legal ploy, but if a cop, or anyone else for that matter, EVER threw anything at me while I was riding, I would take them for all they were worth in a hearbeat! Might not seem like much and probably usually isn't, but even a bug can cause an accident if it freaks a rider just the wrong way. If you get hit with something thrown or held by a person, that would be way more disconcerting than any bug, especially for an uneasy rider.

As far as her claimed injuries, while it seems unlikely, if the strick damaged the helmet, it is does seem possible that enough force could be transferred to the head, neck and spine to cause injury, especially if the rider has health issues, such as osteoporosis, that pre-dispose them to injury. As an example, a co-worker of mine has, on two sepearte occassions, broken BOTH ANKLES!!! Once from stepping of a curb and once from tripping. Routine stuff, but she's got early onset osteoporosis and is basically just brittle.

Bottom line, if the cop struck her on purpose or through negligence, I would say that the case has merit.

 

[flybybusa]

This is a bike-night friend of mine. I don't know any of the details other then she is a nice person and is a serious rider. A fellow employee said he's seen the helmet and that she got a serious whack on the head.

 

[Tufbusa]

Linky!

This is her original thread back in 2007 when the event took place.

I'm thinking this is a frivilous suit? I could be wrong but I'd be surprised if the cop did any damage to this woman. She could have easily just applied the brakes and stopped as the officer had directed.

Does a cop have the athority to use force if you don't follow his direction? Damn right he does. He could have just as easily tackled her off the bike, rubbed her nose in the dirt, handcuffed her and tossed her in the back seat of a crown victoria and would have been well within his athority.

Don't forget, the cop stepped out into her lane and motioned her to pull over. She did not comply for whatever reason. He didn't jump out of the bushes at the last moment and whack her across the helmet.

I'll be surprised if this suit gets any legs? The suit being Sustained does not mean it's true!

 

[chrisjp]

not enough details but they upheld the claim by the board..sounds like something to it.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

Linky!

This is her original thread back in 2007 when the event took place.

I'm thinking this is a frivilous suit? I could be wrong but I'd be surprised if the cop did any damage to this woman. She could have easily just applied the brakes and stopped as the officer had directed.

Does a cop have the athority to use force if you don't follow his direction? Damn right he does. He could have just as easily tackled her off the bike, rubbed her nose in the dirt, handcuffed her and tossed her in the back seat of a crown victoria and would have been well within his athority.

Don't forget, the cop stepped out into her lane and motioned her to pull over. She did not comply for whatever reason. He didn't jump out of the bushes at the last moment and whack her across the helmet.

I'll be surprised if this suit gets any legs? The suit being Sustained does not mean it's true!

I can't see the link to the pnwriders site (not a member) and I didn't see anything about her not stopping in the article reference in the 1st post of this thread. That said, if she didn't stop then that takes the wind out of the sails to some degree. However, simply not stopping, IMHO, doesn't give the the police, or shouldn't, the right to committ attempted murder which is exactly what I would consider it if anybody attacked me while riding.

If she purposefully didn't stop, shame on her and she should be penalized accordingly. If she didn't stop and tried to run over the cop, lock her up and she got what she deserves. But if she didn't do anything threatening and the cop attacked her while riding just b/c she didn't pull over, the case is valid. For all we know/he knew, she didn't see him, had mechanical issue, she was pulling over at a slightly different spot for safety/traction reasons. There's a lot of reasons that a motorcycle might not stop in that situation and attacking the rider shouldn't be the first reaction by police to what may be a perfectly innocent scenario.

 

[Tufbusa]

not enough details but they upheld the claim by the board..sounds like something to it.

It wasn't upheld by a board. It was decided by a judge that the suit had enough merits to move forward.

 

[afterhours]

"Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb did not comment on the pending litigation, citing department policy. He confirmed the OPA complaint was sustained."

that does not say anything...what does that mean?

 

[afterhours]

I can't see the link to the pnwriders site (not a member) and I didn't see anything about her not stopping in the article reference in the 1st post of this thread. That said, if she didn't stop then that takes the wind out of the sails to some degree. However, simply not stopping, IMHO, doesn't give the the police, or shouldn't, the right to committ attempted murder which is exactly what I would consider it if anybody attacked me while riding.

If she purposefully didn't stop, shame on her and she should be penalized accordingly. If she didn't stop and tried to run over the cop, lock her up and she got what she deserves. But if she didn't do anything threatening and the cop attacked her while riding just b/c she didn't pull over, the case is valid. For all we know/he knew, she didn't see him, had mechanical issue, she was pulling over at a slightly different spot for safety/traction reasons. There's a lot of reasons that a motorcycle might not stop in that situation and attacking the rider shouldn't be the first reaction by police to what may be a perfectly innocent scenario.

in the complain she filed....she admits that she did not stop.