Girl, 12, Mistaken for Prostitute, Sues Over Alleged Police Beating
Responding to a report that three white prostitutes were soliciting, plainclothes police officers in Galveston, Texas, wound up arresting a 12-year outside her home one August day in 2006, according to a federal lawsuit filed there against the three officers.
Not recognizing them as police, the girl, who says the officers didn’t identify themselves, fought the arrest and was allegedly beaten, reports the Houston Chronicle. “Two hours later, Dymond Milburn was examined at the University of Texas Medical Branch emergency room and doctors found she had a sprained wrist, two black eyes, a bloody nose and blood in an ear, according to the lawsuit.”
Arrested weeks later, at the middle school where she was an honors student, the girl was tried in 2007 on a charge of resisting arrest. A mistrial reportedly resulted, for unexplained reasons.
Her family contends that she still has nightmares over the experience.
“The officers have filed documents saying their conduct was reasonable in light of the facts they had at the time,” the newspaper writes.
A copy of the complaint (PDF) is provided by That Lawyer Dude, which posted over the weekend on the case.
