Colorado woman awarded $3.6M in excessive force lawsuit
A jury has awarded $3.6 million to a Colorado woman who claimed that deputies used excessive force when they arrested her and later shocked her with a stun gun while she was restrained.
The Denver Post reports the jury awarded the money to Carolyn O’Neal on Wednesday, finding that Fremont County sheriff’s deputies violated her right to privacy, used excessive force and retaliated against her.
Fremont County, west of Pueblo, includes Cañon City and Florence.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately return the newspaper’s call for comment Wednesday.
O’Neal sued the sheriff’s office following the May 2014 arrest at a Cañon City sober living facility.
Prosecutors later charged O’Neal with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. A judge dismissed the charges, finding that deputies did not have reason to arrest her.
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