NORFOLK
Lawyers for Pamela Brown, also known as the Hula Hoop Lady of Granby Street, plan to file a lawsuit in Circuit Court today against an officer who shocked her repeatedly with a stun gun last year.
The lawsuit, provided to The Virginian-Pilot by one of the lawyers, Howard Copeland, says Officer Nicholas Parks violated Brown's civil rights and used excessive force during the incident in October. It asks for $5 million in damages.
Brown, 49, was charged with making excessive noise and assaulting Parks after he responded to a noise complaint on the median of Granby Street near Wards Corner, where she hula hoops. Brown suffered a brain injury in 1977 when she was hit by a truck, and she has seizures and short-term memory loss.
A prosecutor dropped the charges in November. According to the lawsuit, Parks disregarded Brown's repeated statements that her injuries prevented her from putting her arm behind her back, as the officer had ordered. The lawsuit says Parks ignored Brown's efforts to tell him about the documents she had with her that described her condition.
In a video taken by a camera on Parks' Taser gun and released by the Police Department, Brown repeats to Parks that her medical alert information is in the back pocket of her pants.
In the video, Parks shocks Brown for the first time after she swears. Then, the lawsuit says, Parks shocked Brown "two additional times with his Taser, even though she was helplessly on the ground, was not resisting, and was making every effort to comply with Officer Parks' instruction to place her hand behind her back."
Parks then failed to act on Brown's statements that she had been injured and needed help, the lawsuit says. It adds that Parks "violated certain procedures set forth in programs of police training and supervision established by the City of Norfolk, Virginia, through the Norfolk Police Department." The lawsuit also says Parks committed assault and battery on Brown.
Police spokesman Officer Chris Amos said Monday evening that Parks had been disciplined, but he could not comment on the nature of the action. Parks has returned to duty, Amos said. The incident led to additional Taser training for Norfolk police.
Copeland said he and lawyers Stephen Smith and Carlton Bennett will file the lawsuit this afternoon.
Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2287, michelle.washington@pilotonline.com
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williamw92608....
You might want to reconsider what being an American is all about.
It is NOT about being afraid of any interaction with police. They are civil servants, sworn to protect, not harm.
WILLIAM would have been one of the original Americans calling the perpetrators of the Boston Tea Party "traitors" and "cowards."
But, nope..people like him can't seem to comprehend the greater meaning and implications of his diehard worshipping of any and all authority figures.
destardi
..I'm not trashing all cops.
But really, I am sick of hearing "cops have a hard job to do."
1)No one forces them to take this job
2)They have many perks of their own that are far and away better than the average person's job
It's like the transit cop in California who, rather than tase someone, he immediately went for his gun, shot and killed the person...
There are times when tasers are as inappropriate as use of deadly force.
If a cop is not trained properly, or has control issues him/herself, I welcome those sticking up for rogue cops to say "it's ok that he shot me or tase me, because his job is haaaaaaaard!". I bet the same people say "if I have nothing to hide, then why care about privacy". Totally.Clueless.About.What.It.Means.To.Be.An.American.
Until THEY'RE The ones being abused by Authority.
NOT ALL NORFOLK POLICE OFFICERS ARE JERKS!
I was working at Waterside on the evening shift. I caught the bus home every night. The bus shelter was crowded, and I felt safe. Sometimes I would get a drink of water from a nearby fountain. I started to become delusional after my brother died suddenly.
One night, the fountain didn't work. Angel voices told me to get the two stuffed animals I had as mascots, and make them sing to break up the bad air that was stopping up the water faucet (using sonar).
A police car pulled up. The arresting officer asked me if I was alright. I explained everything, and he laughed. He even helped me to sing.
He didn't arrest me; instead got me to go for psychiatric help.
That's the way it's supposed to be!
Cowards William????
How do you figure that when an officer abuses his authority on a citizen and he gets called to the carpet for it that one is a coward for pointing it out? I saw the video sir and so did you. You can't bring yourself to admit that Officer Parks abused this lady for no good reason. There are police who exercise good judgement and common sense and those who have the ego of the Grand Canyon and have no business in the profession. Spare us this rubbish that police put their lives on the line for me everyday. That is a load of bull squeeze sir. Most times they show up AFTER the fact and also prefer a policy that everyday citizens NOT have the capibility to defend themselves except maybe with marshmallows. Norfolk Police have done a swell job proving that. My views lean very much libertarian, but wrong is wrong whether liberal, conservative or bleeding heart.
For William
Why dont you put yourself in the hula hoop ladies shoes ? What if she was your mother ? You badgelickers are all the same; sticking up for cowards who use a taser on a little crippled lady, sorry but Ill save my admiration for cops who deserve it.
Maybe if they would just come out and say "this guy screwed up and hes fired" I would be able to respect them (N.P.D.) You see it comes down to credibility and I dont award it blindly to the cops like badgelickers and judges do.
TO ALL THE NAYSAYERS....
For all of you cowards out there who do not have the courage to admit that Officer Parks has done nothing wrong, why don't you try being in his shoes for a day. I have friends who are police officers and all I can say is that they put their lives on the line for all of you bleeding heart liberals everyday. When faced with a choice, it is either your life or theirs. We all know that this lawsuit is only about money. We live in a society of sue happy people who will do anything to get something for nothing at our expense.
Just roll over and take it
Thats what the badge lickers would have us do.The problem is that the only recourse she has is to sue. I dont like it more than anyone else but when youre left with no other choice you gotta do what you gotta do.
Maybe if the police had anyone to answer to theyd end their shoot(or taser) first mentality.It would be even better if any settlement was paid out of the police budget.If their paycheck was in jepordy maybe their attitude would change.
Dont join the police if you cant do your job without tazering little criplled ladies.And if you cant take critisisim when you screw up then just remember the phrase "if you cant take the heat stay out of the kitchen"
William
Well gee wizz William! How many times did she say she had a medical condition that prevented her from putting her hands behind her back? How many times did she say she had documents to prove her claim? How many times after this woman was on the ground did he keep using the tazer on her? They did the some of the same abuse to Chet Szymecki when he told NPD that he had a war injury and practically broke his arms behind his back when he was arrested for LEGALLY open carrying a side arm. Norfolk Police are the ones who are going to end up bankrupting the city, because they don't get rid of people like this officer Parks. The sad thing is that nothing will happen to the officer in question at court or in the department and he will be back on duty to do it again. I agree what one other poster said...she should get every penny.
I do realize
and the answer is "About 5 million". If you don't like your tax money going to pay off this and the other high profile payoffs of late, then make yourself heard and demand that your city properly train their police to be the public servants they're supposed to be, not the bullies a lot of them have become. I supervised many cops before my retirement and if any of them had ever acted the way the one in this video did, I personally would have had him removed from the job. There's no excuse for trying to handle this situation alone, not having backup, ignoring the woman's pleas and statement about her medical condition, and using a taser in lieu of other physical apprehension and restraint techniques.
you try it then
If she would have listened, there would have been no problem. The problem is she would not comply. If he puts his hands on her, then I guess he is in the wrong. But yet, he was trying to make an arrest. I guess he should have taken the other hand cuff off and let her go down the road (do you detect my SARCASIM?). Just like with anything, it's always the police's fault, never there own. If she has "problems", then someone should have been out there with her. Let her hula hoop at her home! She didn't have a problem putting her other hand behind her back after she got tased! She should get NOTHING.
Officer Parks are you online?
Officer Parks, what you did (you should check out the video, should be on Youtube) is dispicable. Officer Parks, you are an embarassment to all that serve. Your actions against Ms. Hula Hoop sicken me and I am outraged that you are back on the street with your twisted sense of justice. And you think you should still wear a badge? That your actions were justified?
As far as Ms. Hula Hoop's lawsuit, I hope her the best. Since our tax money goes to a system that supports Police officers like Mr. Parks, we taxpayers do share some of the responsibility for their actions. If our police system didn't support officers like Parks, we wouldn't be in this situation. Please remember that this monster is currently out "serving and protecting." America is trenched in a recession, unemployment is up, and yet Mr. Parks has found a golden job. He can tazer cripples, get caught doing so on video, and still keep his job. Is this justice?
As far as Police Officers being in the line of fire and having to deal with everyday risks, I agree, except when it comes to tazing crippled ladies multiple times. Please watch the video before you form any opinion on this.
Lawsuit
Are y'all going to tell me that you didn't see that coming? I saw that coming the day the event happened...
Well, we'll see what the judge and jury have to say...
Frivolous lawsuit?
Abuse of power by those trusted to serve and protect is not only criminal, it is beyond despicable. Those who are guilty of such acts must be held accountable. Shocking/tazing a citizen can not be allowed to become standard practice for diffusing a harmless situation. This officer was not in any danger from Ms. Brown, yet he continued his attack on an obviously handicapped woman after the first of three shocks rendered her defenseless. As a tax-paying resident of Norfolk, I fully support her lawsuit.
discipline
the discipline for this officer was not enough,if you assault a police officer they are going to give you jail time.as far as him not knowing this woman had mental problems then the Norfolk police are acting clueless,every person that go's to that area know that woman is there and has a handicap.and the woman told this officer repeatedly she had a handicap.oh and he was in fear of his life maybe she was going to assault him with her hula hoop.the charges have been dropped against her,but i wouldn't be surprised that some charges are going to be brought up against her again.this is going to cost the tax payer but blame it on the right person the police officer and lack of proper training.i hope she gets every penny of her lawsuit and this guy gets fired and put in jail.i support the police department and know that these guys have a very tough job to do,a few of them think they are above the laws they try to uphold.if this officer would have went to this woman and told her he was sorry and wrong i bet she would have accepted that and this would be all over with.
Hands off police work
Why in the world can't two, big, strong, male cops make one woman put her hands behind her back without having to zap her with thousands of volts? I saw that video. It was absurd. Don't cops learn how to do anything before they're put on the job? What, they didn't want to get their hair mussed? And were they even listening to what the woman kept trying to tell them?
Go for it, Hoops!
Evan J, A BUNCH!
You do realize
You do realize any settlement comes from us tax payers? How much do you think you owe her?
william w...
you can clearly hear her repeating over and over and over again that her medical records are in her back pocket. had he LISTENED to her and checked her back pocket he would have found her medical records and known of her condition.
Save the city money and just fire the cop !
"The police officer that arrested Pamela Brown was only doing his job. He had no way of knowing that this woman had mental issues"
While I too can't understand what suing is going to accomplish,the cop knew immediately the woman had mental problems. Her speech alone was proof of that and the fact that she was a grown woman with a hula hoop in the middle of an intersection. I'd rather see the cop lose his job than put the city through the expense of a trial.
RE:williamw92608
From listening to the video it is clearly evident that this woman has a mental illness. If the police officer just took the time to LISTEN he would have heard her say REPEATEDLY that her papers were in her back pocket. This woman is not harmful to anyone. She just minding her own business and here comes this agressive officer thinking he right because he has a badge. I hope she wins the 5 mil and he gets fired.