Teen Says Excessive Force By Police Caused Miscarriage
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jun 25, 2012 10:20PM
A 17-year-old in south suburban Harvey says a police officer's "excessive force" during arrest caused her to lose her unborn baby. Kwamesha Sharp, 17, has filed a lawsuit against the city and the Harvey police officer referred to as Officer Jones.
Sharp says she stopped at a friend's home on Dec. 30, 2011, where police were responding to a "disturbance," when she encountered Officer Jones. A week later doctors told her she'd suffered a miscarriage at less than 7 weeks pregnant.
Sharp said even though he was told she was pregnant, the officer grabbed her and put her hand behind her back."I flip over to my side, instead of being on my stomach, he flipped me around because he felt me moving, and had his knee in my stomach," Sharp said.
Handcuffed and thrown in a squad car, Sharp says she asked for medical assistance but was denied.
An attorney for the city of Harvey says Sharp "attempted to physically interfere with Officer Jones' investigation of the assault by hitting and kicking Officer Jones," and the officer did not know she was pregnant and didn't use inappropriate force when arresting her.