I put one of these (click sign for linky...)
Posted on 12/31/2013 6:22:25 PM PST by null and void
A Pittsburgh woman is suing authorities after she had to have her arm amputated because police officers used ‘excessive force’ while they arrested her and refused to give her access to a doctor.
The mother-of-three, Amy Needham, 35, of Ross, says the officers entered her home to execute an arrest warrant for failing to show up to a preliminary hearing.
When sheriff's office employees arrived, Needham said she was using the bathroom, but they broke down the bathroom door.
Rough arrest: Police officers shocked Amy Needham, 35, with a Taser, applied arm bars and wrist locks, and put on handcuffs 'that were too tight' before taking her to Allegheny County Jail
According to her attorney, Marvin Leibowitz, the tight handcuffs caused her to suffer compartment syndrome, a limb- and life-threatening condition that occurs after an injury.
Leibowitz says while Needham sat in jail, she made 16 requests to see a doctor for treatment but was denied.
‘They never sent her a doctor. Never took her to the doctor. She developed a septic shock and she almost died and they had to take off her arm
Asked for help: The victim's attorney, Marvin Leibowitz, says while Needham sat in jail she made 16 requests to see a doctor for treatment which were denied
Needham, who had previously worked in a restaurant, is now waiting for a prosthesis.
‘I think she’s been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She doesn’t have an arm. How is she going to get a job?’
Deputies had arrested her for failing to show up at a preliminary hearing on a charge that was eventually reduced to disorderly conduct.
She is now suing the deputies in question and the Allegheny County Jail and seeks $75,000 in damages.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I don’t know where you got the idea that I like tyranny by police. I don’t like the War on Drugs (not necessarily for full legalization but definitely opposed to the way some police have used excessive force, especially for minor drug crimes). I’m 100% in support of the 4th Amendment as well as the rest of the US Constitution. “Always” make you want to vomit? Maybe you have me confused with someone else.
In Pennsylvania, the plaintiff does not demand a specific amount of money as damages for a tort claim. A claim in excess of $75,000 means that the case will not be in the arbitration division, which is limited to claims of no more than $75,000.
Actually, I googled up all the local coverage because I thought the $75K amount was suspiciously low. Turns out that that is mis-reported in this article.
I don’t care how many times she did or didn’t ask for medical attention. They have a duty to observe and treat prisoners in their custody and they blew it, so they are on the hook for that negligence.
Some facts are facts regardless of POV. She was in their custody for a week, until taken to hospital and had her arm amputated. How she came to be in custody or who initiated it is immaterial to the fact that they failed to properly care for an injured person in their custody.
It’s sad and tragic that if she hadn’t missed her court date, she’d still have an arm, but that doesn’t make the state not responsible for what happened to her while in their custody.
I bet the other side will reveal much about this gentle lady.
They sure as $hit have doctors and nurses in every jail.
And from personal experience, cops are terrified of leaving some person to just curl up and die.
They DO get the perps medical care.
Often, as I have seen, the perps are simply dirtbags who want a free ride to the doctor's office.
Breaks up the monotony for them.
Now IF the lady's story is true, then the cops should pay, no question.
Until I hear the other side, I'll reserve judgement.
For now.
100+ replies and still speculation. Did nobody read the article?
The restraints caused compartment syndrome, which is a limb- and life-threatening condition which occurs after an injury, when there is insufficient blood supply to muscles and nerves due to increased pressure within the compartment such as the arm, leg or any enclosed space within the body. If uncorrected, the lack of blood supply leads to injury in the affected muscles and nerves. Complications include necrosis of the tissue in the affected compartment.
She should be suing for MUCH more than 75k. I hope the officers who did it, pay for it and not the tax payers.
1. It doesn’t matter if she was a serial killer and killed a couple of cops during the arrest. There is no justification for what they did to her (remember when men beating up women wasn’t cool?).
2. If this happened in Iran, she’d be testifying before congress and McCain would be calling for war.
3. The $75,000 figure was a technicality. She’s gonna’ ask for much more. Read.
Upon reading all your posts, I think I understand what you mean.
I too wish to thank all the heroic men and women of law enforcement. Especially the brave (and underpaid!) officers of the NSA, whose tireless efforts keep us all safe from terrorists and hooligans. That goes for every one all the way up the line to AG Holder and the rest of our benevolent protectors in the White House.
Secure New Year!
And maybe none of us should ever go 5 mph over the speed limit, not get completely through an intersection before the fast changing lights turn red, spit in public... Unless you meant it as sarcasm, you just promoted the Left Wing as the ideal concept of rulers.
” Maybe she should have showed up for
that preliminary hearing...”
I take it you think cops should be Judge Dredd? Cops must be held responsible for their own actions. Or are cops children?
” So no medical care for a week in custody
means the state loses and will pay a large
sum of money. They screwed up.”
No, they were willfully cruel. This was about punishing her. If cops are trained in their equipment, they knew the dangers of their cuffs.
” Her
amputation could actually be completely
unrelated to her handcuffing.”
They are still hosed if they denied medical care to a prisoner.
It’s funny when people who have never experienced an actual police state pretend that they live in one. They like to imagine that they are dissenters in North Korea or something.
Read the article? You’re kidding, right???
Well that part can be argued in court. What can’t be argued is a week’s worth of negligent oversight and care while in state custody.
There is no argument to make on that part of the story. They may argue about the cause of the septic infection, but they can’t argue that they gave her medical care when they didn’t.
Yes. I’m still amazed that some criticized me so severely for pointing out that the woman should have showed up for the preliminary hearing (in order to avoid a run in with police) and that the article was entirely presented from her (or her lawyer’s) point of view.
I’m apparently anti-Christian and a left wing statist for daring to think that all law enforcers are not jack booted thugs and that all government employees, like corrections officials, aren’t automatically evil oppressors. Somehow thinking critically about an article (that was scant on detail) and wanting to hear both sides of an issue before reaching a conclusion makes me a FReeper enemy.
Frankly, it’s all been quite eye opening.
BTW, I agree we don’t yet live in a police state. I’ve been to countries where one can simply disappear for daring to question the government. America isn’t one of them.
You are stuck on the “why” of the arrest rather than the “how” of the process. Why doesn’t matter and has no bearing on the case because false arrest is not one of the allegations.
If we are going to keep this a country where people don’t simply disappear for questioning the government then we must keep serious oversight on the enforcement minions and their methods.
It is not okay to execute an arrest warrant in such a way to result in the amputation of a limb. Not ever, even if it’s Hannibal Lector.
Your comments have all blamed the victim for bringing herself to the attention of the government enforcers by missing a court date. Citizens shouldn’t be in fear of the government.
That’s why everyone is questioning your thought processes as revealed by your comments.
You are entirely glossing over the loss of an arm while in government custody and the government malfeasance that resulted in such a loss.
Excellent response. It’s lost on the recipient, however.
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