A Louisiana judge has awarded a woman and two of her children more than $41,000 after police used excessive force on her while she was pregnant. The judged called the police officers’ actions “unnecessary and excessive.“
Lakitha Wright testified that during an April 2012 incident with the police, she was pushed over porch railings, thrown on the ground, and pepper sprayed while she was more than eight months pregnant. The Daily Iberian also claims that Wright was stripped and left naked for two hours after the incident.
The police were responding to a neighbor ’s complaint about a fight between two of Wright’s relatives during a family gathering.
Wright also testified that a deputy confiscated a cellphone she had used to record the incident, but the recording had been deleted when she got the phone back, according to CBS News.
“It is unbelievable that this pregnant woman would be thrown to the ground in such a manner although she did not resist her arrest,” the judge wrote.
Wright was arrested alongside other family members, but charges against her were later dropped.