See the update at the end of this post on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department saying the women being sued was not employed by the agency at the time of the Huntington Beach incident.
ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 30, 6:02 A.M.: An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy A woman violently beat a 15-year-old girl with Asperger's Syndrome walking her service dog in Huntington Beach, according to a lawsuit brought by the minor's Long Beach law firm.
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The April 1, 2014, incident left Sasha Walters with a fractured left clavicle, extreme pain and suffering, and mental anguish that exacerbated her pre-existing Asperger's Syndrome, claims Stephen M. Garcia, founding partner of Garcia, Artigliere & Medby.
“Ms. (Risana) Nowell's ability to abuse her authority against a minor is hard to comprehend,” says Garcia in a release. “As a disabled minor, our client deserves protection and justice for the unwarranted treatment she received.”
He does not specify a dollar amount for that “justice.”
Walters was walking with her dog on a sidewalk in front of Risana Nowell's home when the deputy's pit bull terrier began barking and charged toward the teen and her canine, forcing her to plead with Nowell to restrain her dog, according to Garcia.
Instead, Nowell stormed out of her garage to the sidewalk stating, “I am a cop. You hit me. You are in trouble now,” claims Garcia, adding his client “neither hit Ms. Nowell nor entered her property.”
More yelling by Nowell was followed by the off-duty deputy twisting of Walters' left arm into a “cop-hold” or “containment hold,” according to Garcia, who further alleges Nowell forcefully dragged Walters toward the residence.
Neighbors who had witnessed the incident implored Nowell to stop, but arriving Huntington Beach police officers and the LA County deputy Nowell detained Walters “and did not call an ambulance despite her indicating her state of pain resulting from the violent attack,” claims the attorney.
Nowell could not be reached for comment.
UPDATE, JUNE 30, 6:05 P.M.: The Weekly received the following message from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department: “Ms. Nowell left the LASD as of 03/05/13. The article incorrectly stated she was an 'off duty' deputy.”
That detail has been stricken from the original post.
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