Lawsuit against 3 Colorado Springs police officers allege ‘grossly excessive force’ in arrest of 17-year-old
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Three officers with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) were named in a lawsuit accusing them of using "grossly excessive force" during an arrest of a 17-year-old high school student.
According to 9News, the lawsuit filed by Denver civil rights attorney David Lane said the officers pepper-sprayed a then 17-year-old girl on the morning of Oct. 17, 2020, in the face while she was sitting in a patrol car.
The lawsuit names Sergeant Gregory Wilhelmi, Officer Ryan Yoshimiya, and Officer Brianna Ragsdale. The suit isn't against the entirety of the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The court documents say the plaintiff had been in a verbal, non-physical argument outside of an apartment building with her boyfriend. At 2:59 a.m., a bystander reported the argument to CSPD. Initially, Ragsdale and Yoshimiya allowed her brother to take her back into the apartment and left.
At 3:45 a.m., dispatch received another call reporting a female was screaming and crying outside the same location.
According to the lawsuit, when the officers arrived back at the scene, the plaintiff was sitting on the street, crying and yelling. The suit says she was in a "state of emotional distress" when they approached her for a second time.
The lawsuit goes on to say the plaintiff "refused to answer the officers' questions or sit down" when they ordered her to "calm down and sit down." The suit says the officers handcuffed the teen and began leading her to the patrol car.
When this happened, the suit says she was "hysterical and panicked" and "repeatedly screamed that she was a minor and wanted to call her mom."
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was a victim of a 2015 rape and was still traumatized by the experience. The court documents say that when Yoshimiya touched her thigh, it triggered a "trauma response and extreme emotional distress."
Once in the vehicle, the court documents say the plaintiff began kicking the inside of the closed door and screaming "I'm a rape victim, 2015... Give me my phone. I'm a minor. Give me my mom.
At that point, Sgt. Wilhelmi arrived at the scene and asked if she had been pepper sprayed yet. When Yoshimiya told him she hadn't been, Wilhelmi said "Spray her."
Yoshimiya then opened the rear car door and said "If you don't stop kicking, you're going to be OC'ed." The lawsuit says the plaintiff asked for a phone call and her mom again.
The suit saysYoshimiya left the door open and Wilhelmi then sprayed the plaintiff twice while she was sitting handcuffed in the back of the car. The officer then closed the car doors, leaving the plaintiff inside with a "fog of pepper spray" alone.
The suit says that eventually, the plaintiff was given treatment for the pepper spray when EMS arrived at the scene. She was then taken to a police station and released into her mother's custody.
