A woman recently won a case against the New York Police Department regarding the excessive use of police force. The awarded damages were $1.218 million for her neck and back injuries.
The woman, Ms. Stephanie Adams, had threatened a taxidriver, saying she was going to shoot him. She had been wearing tight clothing and was clearly unarmed, however, the police threw her to the ground at gunpoint. A jury ruled that, because it was clear that she could not have been concealing a weapon, the force used by police was excessive and had caused her permanent injury.