When she asked for medical assistance, she estimated that an hour elapsed before officers called for help, the lawsuit stated. April 21, 2021 (Screenshot via TheBL/Charlotte Observer video) Officers used unnecessary force on a woman during a traffic stop in North Carolina, according to a federal complaint brought by Georgia As an organization, we are dedicated to shifting the narrative on racialized mass incarceration through community education and mobilization. Discovery Company. 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. CNN has reached out to Rowan County Sheriffs Department for comment but has not yet heard back. WebStephanie Bottom is a 68-year-old black woman who is suing the North Carolina police for using excessive force during a traffic stop in May 2019. A Warner Bros. 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. Stephanie Bottom was driving on May 30, 2019, along Interstate 85 from Georgia to North Carolina to attend her great aunts funeral, her attorney Scott Holmes told CNN on Tuesday. After the arrest, Bottom claimed she was listening to music loudly in her car and did not realize she was being pulled over, according to the lawsuit, a claim that can be heard in the video. See the links below for more info. The lawsuit filed Wednesday by Stephanie Bottom of Atlanta says she posed no threat to officers from the Salisbury Police Department and the Rowan County Use the links below to access additional information about this case on the US Court's PACER system. 2. Body Select this result to view Stephanie Leigh Walls's phone number, address, and more. Stephanie Bottom filed a federal lawsuit against NC police claiming officers violated her rights by using excessive force. Benfield and a second cop, Officer Devin Barkalow, then struggle to put handcuffs on Bottom while she lies face-down on the side of the roadway, according to the footage. 'I was getting ready to die. We found 17 records for people named Stephanie Austin in 17 cities in North Carolina throughout Raleigh, Olin, and 15 more cities! Access this case on the North Carolina Middle District Court's Electronic Court Filings (ECF) System. Emancipate NC The officers pulled Bottom's arms behind her back while she shrieked in pain as sirens blared in the background, according to the footage. A Salisbury police officer involved in the stop, allegedly Devin Barkalow, 'bragged about "grabbing a handful of dreads", and said "at that point she earned it",' the lawsuit said, citing footage from the officer's body camera. 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. Ms. Bottom wasn't even arrested.'. The suit drew coverage from the Washington Post. 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. WebStephanie is related to Stephanie L Salmons and Raymond Salmons as well as 3 additional people. 'Within five seconds of arriving at her drivers side door with guns drawn, Defendants Benfield and Barkalow grabbed Plaintiff by her arm and hair and threw her from her Toyota Sequoia to the ground,' the lawsuit says. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. 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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. Play it now! Stephanie Bottom was driving on May 30, 2019, along Interstate 85 from Georgia to North Carolina to attend her great aunts funeral, her attorney Scott Holmes 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. Bottom sued on Wednesday alleging two separate violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, assault and battery, and a local statutory violation against Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten. 1983. She is seeking punitive damages, compensatory damages, attorneys fees and other costs from the state defendantsas well as injunctive and declaratory relief that prohibits similar treatment against citizens in the future based on the idea that the officers actions were in violation of the Fourth Amendments prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. 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. Bodycam footage from the incident shows officers approach Bottom's vehicle with guns drawn. An elderly black librarian was viciously yanked out of her car by her hair by a white officer and held at gunpoint during a traffic stop in North Carolina, newly released bodycam footage shows. Instead, she was handcuffed and the officers searched her car and purse without consent, warrant, or probable cause, which violated Bottoms Fourth Amendment rights, according to the lawsuit. Bottom suffered a rotator cuff injury in her shoulder as a result of the officers violence. 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. 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Stephanie Bottom, of Atlanta, Georgia, was driving to the funeral of her great aunt in May 2019 when she was seen by police allegedly going 80mph in a 70mph zone. the officer responds. Lawsuit to be filed against police after Calif. man dies while being restrained by police. Bottom was peaceful at all times, and officers knew they were dealing with an elderly woman. I was listening to my musicI wasn't going that fast, Bottom says. (Hicks, Samantha). All Rights Reserved. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Traveling north on I-85, she eventually noticed the blue lights of a Sheriff Deputys vehicle and began looking for a safe area to pull over, according to her lawsuit filed in federal court on Wednesday. Benfield, Barkalow, and Bouk placed [Bottom] in handcuffs and secured her at the front of her vehicle prior to commencing their search of [Bottoms] vehicle and purse. The mainstream narrative that criminalizes Black and Brown people must be transformedso that we can all get free. (Hicks, Samantha), CASE REFERRED to Mediation pursuant to Local Rule 83.9b of the Rules of Practice and Procedure of this Court. 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 As is standard, we are unable to comment on pending litigation.. [emailprotected]. Bottom claims the officers refused to get her medical treatment even as she told them she was in pain, according to the lawsuit. 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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 Interstate 85 as she was traveling to her aunts funeral in Raleigh in May 2019. DeSantis coming to CA as new poll shows him leading Trump, Ice flies off SUV, smashing windshield: 'You could kill somebody', How safe is your neighborhood? Posted by 10 months ago. When they grabbed me and threw me to the ground, thats when the real terror struck me that I was going to die. Show our community and nation that law enforcement who enforce the law, must also abide by the same law.. Charges against her for speeding and resisting arrest were dismissed. 2. The Atlanta-based librarian was allegedly assaulted by cops in 2019, during a traffic stop. "Because I didn't know they were going after me!" We are all complicit in its harms. Within seconds of arriving at her driver's side door, the officers grabbed Bottom by her arm and hair and pulled her from her vehicle to the ground, according to body camera footage. She also wants to make sure that other people are not treated the way she was during her May 2019 arrest. "Once it became clear they wanted her to pull over she was afraid and was looking for a safe place to pull over," Holmes told CNN in an email. I was just driving, Bottom says. Why didn't you stop?" 'I was shaking in fear,' Bottom said to the Observer. 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. She then looked for a safe place to pull over until spike strips were deployed to stop her. I did nothing wrong.. 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. 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. [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. A pirate at heart, she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Political Science at East Carolina University. Web22 records for Stephanie Bottoms. Bottom was peaceful at all times, and officers knew they were dealing with an elderly woman,' said Ian Mance, a lawyer with EmancipateNC who represents Bottom. All we had to do was write you a ticket and you turned it into this.. Download theGrio today! , ' Bottom said to the ground, thats when the real struck. And Brown people must be transformedso that we can all get free lawsuit NC. Reached out to Rowan County Sheriffs Department for comment but has not yet heard back officers violence of! After me! this.. 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