Arnold v. Wilder, No. 09-6178 (6th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseThe 2003 incident started with the mayor calling police to complain about children running through yards. Plaintiff, mother of one of the boys, claims that the officer became angry, blocked her from her house, knocked her down, dragged her to the squad car, shoved her inside, and used pepper spray. She escaped to the house with the children and called 911. When officers arrived, plaintiff refused to open the door until her brother, an attorney, arrived. Plaintiff was handcuffed and placed in the first officer's car, was held for five to six hours, was arraigned on charges of disorderly conduct, assault of a police officer, resisting arrest, and escape in the second degree. Several charges were felonies. She refused to sign an agreement that charges would be dismissed if she promised that she would not pursue a civil suit. She was found not guilty. In her civil suit, a jury awarded $2,400 for physical injury, pain, and suffering, $5,000 for legal expenses, $50,000 for mental pain and suffering, and $1,000,000 in punitive damages (reduced to $229,600 by the judge). The Sixth Circuit affirmed, but modified the punitive damages award to $550,000 so that the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages is in the single digits.
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