Norfolk settles 'Hula Hoop Lady' lawsuit for $65,000

NORFOLK

The city will pay $65,000 to settle a federal lawsuit brought after a police officer used a Taser on the woman known to many as the Hula Hoop Lady of Granby Street.

Attorneys for Pamela Brown filed the suit, seeking $5 million, against a police officer who used a Taser on her during an October arrest. The suit claimed Brown's civil rights were violated and that the officer used excessive force.

Under the terms of the agreement, there is no finding or admission of liability on the part of the officer, Nicholas G. Parks, or the city.

Federal Magistrate Judge James E. Bradberry accepted the agreement Friday and indicated he would sign an order once it has been drawn up.

Brown sustained a brain injury when she was hit by a truck on the day of her high school prom. Now 50, she lives

independently and is a fixture on Granby Street, where she likes to hula-hoop in the median as motorists pass by. Even the judge told Brown on Friday that he often passed her on his way to work.

But not everyone is a fan of the radio Brown likes to play at the median. The Taser incident grew out of Parks' response to a complaint from a resident about the radio volume on the morning of Oct. 11.

In a deposition, the police officer said Brown would not comply with his requests that she turn down the radio. He said she pushed him and hit him repeatedly in the arm with her fist when he took the radio and tried to turn it down himself.

During the confrontation, he drew his Taser, which had a camera that captured two minutes of the incident. Brown is seen shouting, one hand cuffed. She does not put her other hand behind her back as the officer repeatedly demands.

Her words are difficult to understand; she referred to prior injuries and her "medic alert." Parks said that only by later viewing the video did he understand what Brown was saying.

She was charged with making excessive noise and with assault, but prosecutors dropped the charges the next month.

On Friday, C. Stewart Gill Jr., her attorney, told the judge that about $17,000 of the settlement would go toward costs incurred in the suit and $26,000 toward the lawyer's fees.

Brown will receive a little less than $22,000.

Marylin Copeland, a longtime advocate, said Brown lives frugally, never using air conditioning in summer nor heat in the winter.

The money will allow her to possibly join a gym or take French classes, which can help her cognitive skills and "expand her world," said Cope-land, a regional resource coordinator for the Brain Injury Association.

Brown took eight years of French before the 1977 accident and came out of the coma speaking it, Copeland said.

The accident left her with a seizure disorder, severe short-term memory issues and impulsivity, she said.

"She has been able to struggle and live an independent life through tremendous determination and drive on her part," Copeland said.

Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com