The Extra E Is For Extra Pee
The headline refers to an old ad on cable TV in New York for sex line 1-900-PEEE, and the blog post is about a woman who had cops pepper-spray and urinate on her when she was shackled following a drunk driving arrest in which she was the passenger. From the AP:
PITTSBURGH -- A judge has refused to dismiss the lawsuit of a western Pennsylvania woman who claims state troopers pepper sprayed and later urinated on her while she was shackled hand and foot, saying the troopers' claim of sovereign immunity doesn't apply because the alleged misconduct is outside the scope of their official duties.Derena Marie Madison, 40, of Smithfield, sued five troopers from the barracks near Uniontown in August for conduct she claims occurred when she was riding in her car while a friend was stopped for drunken driving on Feb. 3. Madison named two of the troopers, Chad Weaver and Cpl. Michael Zampagona, but doesn't know the names of the others.
The attorney general's office, representing the troopers, asked that the lawsuit be dismissed under the doctrine of sovereign immunity which, essentially, contends that law enforcement officers are immune from being sued for actions "within the scope of their employment."
But Chief U.S. District Judge Gary Lancaster, in a decision last week, found that "when a suspect is in custody and fully restrained, the acts alleged here do not serve any purpose of the police or constitute the kind of conduct police are employed to perform. Certainly, troopers serve no legitimate law enforcement purpose by urinating on a person in custody." The judge's decision was first reported by the Courthouse News Service.
Lancaster, in issuing the ruling, is not saying the allegations are true - only that Madison's lawsuit can go forward because, at this juncture, he must legally assume they are true.
via Lisa Simeone
It's a start.
nuzltr2 at May 8, 2012 5:42 AM
Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining...officer.
Robert at May 8, 2012 6:01 AM
What kind of people are being hired as Pennsylvania State Police? If these allegations are true, they should be jailed themselves, and whoever supervised them and hired them should be fired. This is a failure of much more than just these awful state troopers. And considering the Attorney general's office attempted to get them off on the basis of sovereign immunity, the current Attorney General shoudl be voted out of office, and most of his staff fired.
alittlesense at May 8, 2012 10:47 AM
Pennsylvania is documented to be one of the most corrupt states. Among other things, it has massive court corruption problems, including where a judge got kickbacks for sentencing youth to a correction facility.
Joe at May 8, 2012 1:10 PM
Leave a comment