Countywide : 3 Deputies Accused of Brutality in Suit
A Fillmore woman filed a $1-million police brutality lawsuit Tuesday against the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, alleging that three deputies beat her one night in August, 1989.
Rose Marie Gonzalez filed the suit in Ventura County Superior Court, alleging that three sheriff’s deputies came to her home in the 400 block of 2nd Street at 11:15 p.m. on Aug. 5, 1989, to ask about her son.
While Gonzalez was warning the deputies about her dogs, the deputies grabbed her head, pinned her against a van, pulled her hair and kicked her in the stomach, the suit claims.
The suit alleges that Deputy Harold Laubacher and two deputies whose full names are not known attacked Gonzalez and violated her civil rights.
None of the deputies could be reached for comment.
Undersheriff Larry Carpenter said he remembers discussion of the incident in his office, but he said he did not know what happened.
Gonzalez and her attorney, David Kurtz, could not be reached for comment.
The suit asks for $1 million in punitive damages, plus legal fees.
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