Facts

In September of 2004, two police officers for the City of Glendale responded to a complaint about noise at the apartment of plaintiff Laura Mason. The plaintiff is a nurse in her 30s. According to the officers, the plaintiff would not lower the volume of music playing or end the party she was hosting. The officers asked her to step outside at which point she was arrested for public intoxication. Because the plaintiff was not wearing shoes, she refused to walk to the police car. The plaintiff was then dragged to the police car.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff sued the officers and the City of Glendale, alleging false arrest and excessive use of force. The plaintiff claimed she had not consumed enough alcohol to be considered intoxicated. She claimed that the police used the music complaint as a ruse to get her out of her home in order to arrest her. She contended the arrest violated her constitutional rights because they had no probable cause to believe a crime had been committed. The plaintiff also claimed that the force used in the arrest was excessive and violated her constitutional rights.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defense argued that the arrest was justified, asserting that the plaintiff was intoxicated enough to violate the public intoxication statute. They denied luring her out of her apartment to arrest or trap her in a criminal act. Rather, they were investigating a phoned complaint and ordered the plaintiff outside to speak with her. The defendants further claimed the force used in the arrest was not excessive. Because the plaintiff refused to walk to the police car, they had no other choice but to drag her to the car.

Damages

The plaintiff claimed she missed two days of work because of her arrest.

Injuries

The plaintiff claimed injuries to her toes. She visited the doctor twice, costing her $120. The doctor recommended antibiotic ointment to treat her toes.

Result

The jury returned a defense verdict, finding probable cause existed for the arrest and that excessive force was not used by the officers.

Deliberation

9.5 hours

Poll

8-0

Length

nine hours