$475,000 Settlement Paid in Tallahassee Suit Alleging Police Misconduct

The City of Tallahassee has agreed to pay $475,000 to plaintiffs to settle their suit claiming police misconduct that violated the plaintiffs’ rights under federal and state law.

Christina West crashed her vehicle and was allegedly given roadside sobriety tests, handcuffed and placed in a patrol car by Tallahassee police. After West had reportedly agreed to take a breath test and after one of her handcuffs had fallen off, she was instructed to exit the car. She did so and police purportedly slammed her against the car, threw her to the ground and forced her into the pavement. West was allegedly falsely charged with crimes including battery, driven to jail and then taken to the hospital due to her substantial injuries caused by the police. West and her husband subsequently filed suit in federal court against the police and the City of Tallahassee (“City”), claiming excessive force, fabrication of evidence and supervisory liability, among other claims, seeking compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. However, the parties settled on September 9, 2014.

Mrs. West crashed into an unoccupied home in Killearn Estates in Tallahassee on August 10, 2013. Not seriously injured from the accident, she was given roadside sobriety tests by Tallahassee Police Officers Cristopher Ormerod and Matthew Smidt. Instructed to submit to an alleged “airplane test,” Mrs. West lifted her arms and Ormerod handcuffed her without warning and placed her in the back of a patrol car. The events were purportedly recorded on a police dashboard camera.

According to Mrs. West, she then agreed to take a breath test and at this time, a handcuff fell off one of her hands. She then claimed that she was commanded to exit the car and that she followed this directive. Ormerod and Smidt then grabbed West and applied pressure points, with Smidt striking the back of her head and slamming her face into the back windshield of the patrol car, despite Mrs. West’s warnings to officers that she had recently undergone surgery. The officers then reportedly threw Mrs. West to the pavement, pushed her face into the pavement, wrenched her arms up behind her back and pressed down into her neck and hip-areas.

As a result of the officers’ misconduct, Mrs. West stated that she lost control of her bladder and bowels, suffered injuries, including facial fractures and nerve damage. According to Mrs. West, Tallahassee Police Department Sergeants George Creamer and William Faust were present during the incident and allowed her mistreatment. Mrs. West was then transported to the Leon County Jail, where staff would not accept her until her injuries were treated. Ormerod allegedly claimed that Mrs. West’s injuries were the result of her car accident and charged her with two counts of battery for attacking him and Smidt. After reviewing the video, which contradicted Ormerod’s account, the charges were thrown out.

Christina West and David West, her husband, filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida against the City of Tallahassee, Officers Ormerod and Smidt, and Sergeants Creamer and Faust. The plaintiffs accused the City of unconstitutional policies and practices and raised federal claims against the defendants for excessive force, failure to treat, fabrication of evidence, supervisory liability and deliberate indifference. The plaintiffs also alleged state claims of wrongful acts, negligence, loss of consortium, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The parties settled through mediation.

In the wake of the incident, TPD Chief Dennis Jones retired and TPD policies on the use of force were modified; none of the officers involved in the incident were fired or charged. See: West v. City of Tallahassee, U.S.D.C. (N.D. FL), Case No. 4:14-cv-00153-RH-CAS.

Additional source: Tallahassee Democrat

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