May 23rd 2024.
A recent lawsuit has brought to light the excessive force used by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin against a woman. This incident occurred just a few months before Chauvin's fatal knee to the back of George Floyd. According to NBC News, the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, May 21 in Minnesota federal court on behalf of Patty Day, a Minneapolis resident. Day claims that Chauvin and his former partner, Ellen Jensen, used excessive force during an arrest in January 2020, even though she was not resisting. The lawsuit also includes allegations of violations of Day's Fourth and 14th Amendment rights, as well as her civil rights. It names both officers and the city of Minneapolis as defendants.
At the time of the arrest, Day was working as the communications and public outreach director for the Minneapolis Department of Public Works. She alleges that she was violently pulled from her car and thrown to the ground, with Chauvin pressing his knee into her back. As a result of this forceful arrest, Day suffered a fractured tooth and bruises all over her body. The incident took place on January 17, 2020, when Day, who was going through a difficult time in her personal life, left her home while intoxicated to pick up her children from daycare.
The lawsuit states that Day pulled over into a snowbank after realizing she shouldn't be driving in the snowy conditions. When a concerned citizen called the police, they arrived at the scene and saw Day talking to two people who explained that she was going through a difficult time and had pulled over to rest. Day had thrown her keys in the backseat to prevent herself from driving and had mistakenly left her cell phone at home. While Jensen was speaking to Day through the window, Chauvin approached and forcefully unlocked the car door from the outside. He then grabbed Day's arms and pulled her out of the vehicle without ever informing her that she was under arrest.
According to the complaint, Day's tooth was cracked when she was thrown to the ground, and she suffered bruises and pain to her arms, shoulder, face, hands, chest, ankle, and legs. She was handcuffed and ordered to stand up and walk to the police car, even though she was not resisting arrest. "I was not resisting. I was not being belligerent ... I was simply trying to show them that there were no keys in the ignition of my car," Day told KARE of Minneapolis. Despite this, Chauvin and Jensen failed to mention their use of force in their police reports. However, after body camera footage was reviewed, a Hennepin County District Judge concluded that Day was not given any orders before being forcefully removed from her vehicle.
Day was charged with two gross misdemeanor counts of third-degree DWI, and her driver's license was temporarily revoked. However, when a hearing was held in February 2021, while Chauvin was awaiting trial for the murder of George Floyd, Day's criminal charges were dismissed due to a lack of evidence. The prosecution even acknowledged that the city attorney's office did not approve of how the interaction between Day and the officers went. This information is included in Day's lawsuit.
The lawsuit also mentions Chauvin's documented pattern of misconduct, which was reportedly ignored by the Minneapolis Police Department. It also includes the names of other victims of Chauvin's excessive force, such as John Pope and Zoya Code, as well as the millions of dollars the city has paid in excessive force settlements. "The city has paid nearly $80,000,000 in the last two decades as a result of the unconstitutional use of force by MPD officers," the lawsuit states.
Day is currently seeking a trial by jury and is requesting compensatory and punitive damages for the excessive force she experienced at the hands of Chauvin and Jensen. This lawsuit serves as a reminder of the need for accountability and reform within law enforcement.
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