Report: Milton Woman Pulled Out Of SUV By Trooper Awarded $300K
BOSTON (CBS) -- A federal jury has awarded $300,000 to a Milton woman who was pulled out of her SUV by a Massachusetts State Police trooper while she struggled in 2007.
The Boston Globe reports the jury found that Trooper R. Bradford Porter had probable cause to arrest Beth E. Shea, now 52, but used excessive force.
Porter was not in uniform when he accused Shea of driving recklessly, speeding and resisting arrest, before reportedly smashing her window with a flashlight in order to unlock her door and pull her out of the vehicle.
Shea told the jury that Porter said "you're mine" as he pounded on her window while she tried to call authorities, not believing that he was a police officer.
A lawyer for the trooper told The Globe that Porter "did his lawful duty" and said Shea nearly drove recklessly into a woman.
All charges against Shea in the incident were dropped.
Massachusetts taxpayers would foot the bill for $300,000 in damages if the verdict stands, The Globe reported.
A lawyer for Shea told The Globe that Shea, who is white, can relate "in small part" to Sandra Bland. Bland, a black woman, was found hanged in her Texas jail cell after being ordered out of her car and threatened with a stun gun by a white police officer during a traffic stop.