by Greg Angel
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL)
-- A federal judge will begin hearing
testimony next year in a lawsuit filed against the City of Tallahassee Police
Department on behalf of a woman claiming police brutality.
Hon. R. Hinkle of the United
States District Court of North Florida in Tallahassee is scheduled to begin
hearing opening arguments in the Christina West case beginning May 4, 2015.
West gained national attention
following the release of video of her August 2013 DUI arrest. She was accused
of drunk driving, losing control of her van and then crashing into a bedroom of
a home in the Killearn neighborhood.
Officers had faced scrutiny for
their handling of West during the arrest. Police say she slipped out of her
handcuffs and became combative.
Dashcam video shows officers
slamming her onto the ground. West sustained a broken orbital bone along with
scrapes and bruises to her body.
In the federal lawsuit filed in
March of 2014, West claims "...the handcuffs had fallen from Mrs. West's
wrists because they were too big."
Named in the suit is the the
City of Tallahassee as well as four officers with the Tallahassee Police
Department. They include Officers Chris Ormerod and Matthew Smidt, and
Sergeants George Creamer and William Faust. Among the allegations, the suit
claims the officers used excessive force during the arrest and fabricated
evidence.
While a Leon County Grand Jury
cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, each were disciplined by Tallahassee
Police Department with varying suspensions.
West eventually pleaded no
contest to a misdemeanor reckless driving charge in the case.
