WEST POINT — A mother has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of West Point, claiming police officers used unnecessary force and a stun gun on her developmentally disabled teenage daughter.
Rasundra Eley says officers with West Point Police Department responded to her Cromwell Street residence Oct. 3 after she called for an ambulance to take her daughter to Alliance Behavioral Health Center. Eley alleges two WPPD patrol vehicles came to her home and one officer put her daughter, who was 16 at the time, in a neck restraint that left her unconscious.
The lawsuit claims that upon regaining consciousness, the girl attempted to flee and was struck with a stun gun, causing her to fall face first into the pavement.
No criminal charges stemming from the incident have been filed.
Eley is seeking $2 million in the lawsuit, which was filed in late May.
The suit does not name the police officers involved.
Orlando Richmond, city of West Point attorney, declined to comment when reached by The Dispatch this week.
Gregory Malta, a Brookhaven lawyer representing Eley and her daughter, said the police officers’ behavior was unacceptable and that at no point did his client pose a threat to anyone. He said the lawsuit is based on the statements of Eley, who he said is due compensation for physical and psychological harm done to her family.
Malta said Eley claims the officer who put her daughter in the neck restraint looked at her and said, “She’s going to sleep now.”
“It’s rarely appropriate to use a neck restraint, and it wasn’t in this case,” Malta told The Dispatch. “This child did not commit any crime, was not accused of committing any crime … they had no right to lay hands on her at any point.”
He said the developmental and physical handicaps of his client causes the incident to be amplified in its longterm emotional impact.
“She’s always going to need help,” he said. “She’ll need help her whole life and now she’s going to be afraid of people in uniform.”
The suit accuses the City of West Point of unduly battering a minor, false imprisonment, deprivation of civil rights, intentionally inflicting emotional distress and negligence in selecting and supervising of its police officers. Malta said they feel the incident “stems form a lack of training” on the part of WPPD.
Malta said he and his client went forward filing the lawsuit because the city has not cooperated by giving up records from the incident. The suit calls for a jury trial to decide the matter, and Malta said he expects it will be at least 18 months before a trial is held.
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