What Took So Long? Print
Thursday, August 21 2014

Nearly two years after a police stop and citation that made national news, a grandmother is suing a Dallas-area police officer and city for allegedly being "antagonized and assaulted."

According to news reports, on August 19, 2012, then 77-year-old grandmother Lynn Bedford was stopped for going 66 mpg in a 50-mph zone.  Citing a bladder infection and the need to use a restroom, Bedford refused to get out of the car or hand over her driver's license, prompting Sgt. Gene Geheb to open the door and remove Bedford from the car. Bedford ultimately received two citations: one for speeding and another for failing to provide ID.

Originally, Bedford said she did not have plans to sue.  Now, two years later, she has changed her mind and is seeking a jury trial and damages against the City of Keene and Sgt. Geheb for, among other things, unreasonable search and seizure and for having in place policies that show “deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of citizens.” In the federal lawsuit filed in Dallas, Bedford claims she “suffered a painfully-bruised tailbone, bruising on her arm, and a sore shoulder.”
 
In September 2012, Keene Chief Rocky Alberti defended his officer’s actions: “The incident has been reviewed thoroughly by the Keene Police Department and the City of Keene administration,” Alberti said. “All parties have concluded that Sgt. Geheb did not violate any state laws or department policies, and in fact was following department policy in regards to violators not providing information.”

Source: Dallasnews.com