An officer tells her she refused to stop for law enforcement. The suit was filed in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina. ', 'Won't somebody think of the fentanyl dealers?' 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. Do not sell or share my personal information. The Atlanta-based librarian was allegedly assaulted by cops in 2019, during a traffic stop. Ms. Bottom wasnt even arrested.. NC governor calls for release of bodycam video in Andrew Brown killing, Police video shows officer using stun gun on handcuffed man, 68-year-old woman sues NC police for violent traffic stop recorded on body camera, A woman threw a house party with 65 men she matched with on Tinder and Hinge and connected with the man she's been dating for a year. 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A 68-year-old Black woman has filed a WebI would highly recommend Stephanie. Download theGrio today! The lawsuit alleges that two officers grabbed Bottom by her arm and her hair, later throwing her out of the vehicle and onto the ground. "Well, honey, you had several miles to stop. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Docket action in the case was quick, however, and there may not be much of any precedent as a result of the lawsuit. Web22 records for Stephanie Bottoms. 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. Traveling north on I-85, she eventually noticed the (Hicks, Samantha). 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. 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.". See the links below for more info. The other officers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. McElroy told the newspaper that 'the Salisbury Police always strives for positive interactions with our residents and visitors, including in cases where we may suspect criminal activity.'. She had to undergo surgery but it did not fully repair her shoulder and it now has permanent damage, the lawsuit stated. Prison is state-sponsored violence. Posted by 10 months ago. I was shaking in fear, Bottom said in an interview with the Charlotte Observer. Bottom wasnt even arrested.. Stephanie Bottom is suing the police over her arrest in May 2019 which left her with a torn rotator cuff. Body cam footage shows that in a matter of a few seconds, Bottom appears to be taken out of the car by force and pinned to the ground, with her face down and officers pushing on her arm. 'I was getting ready to die. During this time, Bouk is heard on the body camera footage saying, Thats good police work baby to other officers, according to the suit. Bottom, from Atlanta, Georgia, was driving to her great aunt's funeral when police pulled her over in May 2019 - but footage has only now been shared of the incident. noticed the blue lights of a Sheriff Deputys vehicle. When Bottom didn't immediately pull over, one of the officers making the traffic stop identified in the lawsuit as Salisbury Police Officer Devin Barkalow made statements recorded by his body camera that Bottom was a "f**king retard" and a "douche bag," according to the body camera footage. 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. Im on my way to a funeral, my aunts funeral, she sobs. "Ma'am, there was about four police cars behind you at one point in time," the officer responds. While following behind Plaintiff, Defendant [, limiting the use of [Bottoms] shoulder.. 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. Salisbury city officials declined to comment on Bottoms lawsuit, but told the outlet that its police department always strives for positive interactions with residents and visitors, including those suspected of criminal activity. Its unclear how close police were to Bottoms vehicle before she pulled over, as the footage only shows the inside of the police vehicle and the sky. The officers pulled Bottoms arms behind her back while she shrieked in pain as sirens blared in the background, according to the footage. Officers had their sirens on for at least 10 minutes, according to body camera footage that is cited in the lawsuit and was reviewed by CNN. (919) 682-1149, allegedly driving 80 mph in a 70-mph zone, The four officers involved in the incident, Durham DSS Slow to Reunify Kids with Families, Catch the Latest from Black Light Mass Incarceration Show, Join a Virtual Listening Session on the Harms of Solitary Confinement, RPD Releases Bodycam Footage of Darryl Williams Murder. According to the lawsuit against Salisbury Police Department and the Rowan County Sheriffs Office, Bottom, who was then 66-years old, did not know she was going about 10 mph more than the speed limit. While following behind Plaintiff, Defendant [Devin] Barkalow made statements recorded by his body camera that Plaintiff was a fucking retard and douche bag. He exclaimed that this was an exciting chase, and he was at the edge of my seat.. The officers, from the Salisbury Police Department and Rowan County Sheriffs Department, pulled Bottom over as she drove to a funeral. The then-66-year-old librarian from Fulton County, Georgia, was listening to music and didn't initially see the flashing blue lights coming from the police vehicle behind her, Holmes said. Bottom claims the officers refused to get her medical treatment even as she told them she was in pain, according to the lawsuit. Why didn't you stop?" Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? WebDr. Stephanie Bottom filed a federal lawsuit against NC police claiming officers violated her rights by using excessive force. According to the lawsuit, Bottom did not believe she was driving fast and did not think the police were trying to stop her. Filter by City. According to WBTV, community members want more from the Salisbury Police and Rowan Sheriff. According to the lawsuit, the police grabbed the then 66-year-old by her hair, and threw her to the ground resulting in a torn rotator cuff. A 68-year-old Atlanta librarian is suing police in Salisbury, North Carolina, claiming excessive force during a 2019 traffic stop. May 11, 2021 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Policing. And after that, she claims, it got even worse. #3 in North Carolina. According to the Charlotte Observer, video shows an officer telling Bottom that EMS would look at her approximately 11 minutes after the stop, after which she was taken to a local hospital. Officers issued Bottom a summons, charging her with "speeding failure to heed blue lights, and resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer for allegedly refusing to get out of her vehicle and pulling away from the officer," according to the lawsuit. Her requests for medical assistance were ignored even though she said she was in pain. STEPHANIE BOTTOM: Defendant: DEPUTY MARK BENFIELD, OFFICER DEVIN BARKALOW, OFFICER ADAM BOUK, CITY OF SALISBURY, SHERIFF KEVIN Mark Walhberg is SLAMMED for presenting SAG Award to Asian cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once following his hate crime conviction for assaulting Asian men, Emily Blunt looks incredible in a red figure hugging gown as she cosies up to husband John Krasinski on the red carpet, SAG Awards' best dressed stars! Our complaint alleges these officers had no reason to use any force, much less the level of force they employed. The officers also say it could've been a simple traffic stop before putting the onus of the current incident on her. Bottom pleaded guilty to failing to heed blue lights. Aristocrat Constance Marten and Sex-Offender Mark Gordon's Missing Baby Found Dead in Countryside, Cops Say, GOP Legislator Introduces Bill That Would Eliminate Florida's Democratic Party, Florida Student, 17, Who Attacked Teacher to Be Tried as Adult, Woman Convicted in Connection to Lady Gaga Dognapping Sues Singer for $500,000 Reward Money, 5 Ballet Dancers Seriously Injured in California Hit-and-Run Car Crash Strive to Heal to Return to the Stage, 17-Year-Old Michigan Boy Slain by 13-Year-Old and 14-Year-Old Who He Offered Ride Home on Cold Night: Police. WebBlack librarian Stephanie Bottom pulled by hair, injured by police in Salisbury, North Carolina, lawsuit says. 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. I was just driving. In the footage, Bottom is seen screaming as Benfield, Barkalow, and Salisbury Police Officer Adam Bouk force her to lay face down on the ground, according to the lawsuit. The then-66-year-old librarian from Fulton County, Georgia, was listening to music and didn't initially see the flashing blue lights coming from the police vehicle behind her, Holmes said. At no time did [the officers] request, nor did [Bottom] give, consent to search the vehicle and purse., The lawsuit also notes that Bottom is an elderly woman and that all of the officers involved in the arrest were aware of her general age based on their radio communications., It is difficult for [Bottom] to exit her vehicle quickly due to her age and medical condition, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for the alleged use of excessive force and unlawful search of the plaintiff's purse and vehicle. 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. She also admits to going 10 miles over the speed limit, which was 70mph, meaning she was driving around 80mph. Emancipate NC attorney Ian Mance and Emancipate NC client Stephanie Bottom are featured in a new CNN documentary: CNN Special Report- Traffic Stop: Dangerous Encounters. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for the alleged use of excessive force and unlawful search of the plaintiffs purse and vehicle. Click a location below to find Stephanie more easily. Police pull Black woman by hair, injure her shoulder in traffic stop. The lawsuit names Benfield and Barkalow as the two officers who did this. One of the officers tells Bottom that three police cruisers had been behind her for about 10 miles trying to get her to pull over for allegedly driving 80 mph in a 70-mph zone and failing to heed officers sirens. After the search, officers told Bottom to stand, but she said she couldnt due to the pain in her shoulder, according to the suit. Bottom, now 68, said she was driving to Raleigh for a funeral in May 2019 when she was pulled over for suspected speeding and failing to heed blue lights, the 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. A 68-year-old Black woman has filed a federal lawsuit after a violent interaction with North Carolina police during a traffic stop in May 2019. Current Address: 9780 Lily Rd; Jacksonville, FL 32246-3426. Maam, there were three police cars behind you for about 10 miles, one of the officers replied. When officers approached her car, their firearms were drawn. She then looked for a safe place to pull over until spike strips were deployed to stop her. When they grabbed me and threw me to the ground, thats when the real terror struck me that I was going to die. Meanwhile, officers search her car, which Bottom alleges she didn't consent for, Officers are then seen using their force to get Bottom to put her arms behind her back. CNN has reached out to Rowan County Sheriffs Department for comment but has not yet heard back. The lawsuit names Benfield and Barkalow as the two officers who did this. Asheville (NC) (2) Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill (NC) (13) Clarendon, NC (1) appreciated. a librarian from Georgia has filed a civil rights lawsuit against police officers over a traffic stop gone awry. Read More: NC governor calls for release of bodycam video in Andrew Brown killing. She later had surgery for the injury, but it did not fully repair the shoulder, according to the lawsuit, and now there is permanent damage. On the same day Bottoms case was filed, it was automatically referred to mediation under local court rules due to the subject matter concerning an alleged Civil Rights violation under 42 U.S.C. 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. Born in North Carolina, Chef Tyson spent countless hours dreaming of leaving for the bright lights of anywhere else. We found 17 records for people named Stephanie Austin in 17 cities in North Carolina throughout Raleigh, Olin, and 15 more cities! 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. Another officer involved in the traffic stop, only identified as Officer Smith, pulled ahead of Bottom and deployed spike strips that immediately immobilized her vehicle, the lawsuit says. Stephanie Bottom, then 66, was driving her car to Raleigh for her great aunts funeral on 30 May, 2019 when, Salisbury police and Rowan County sheriff The video shows Stephanie Bottom, 66, repeatedly pleading with Salisbury police officers and Rowan County sheriffs deputies to tell her why they stopped her on San Francisco's woke public defender is slammed for condemning plans to deport opioid pushers, Do you wish you were taller? 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. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- A University of North Carolina student used some area knowledge to advance in Jeopardy's High School Reunion Tournament. 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.. Phone Number: PO Box 309 [She] did not pose a threat to [the officers] or anyone else as she had her hands up as she attempted to exit the vehicle. Stephanie Bottom (AP) RALEIGH, N.C. 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