Jury Rejects $2.8-Million Suit Alleging Abuse by Deputies
A jury Thursday rejected a $2.8-million lawsuit filed by a San Gabriel woman against two sheriff’s deputies who she claimed beat her during an arrest.
After deliberating 1 1/2 hours, the Pasadena Superior Court jury ended a two-week civil trial by finding that Corin Maldonado, 39, was not severely beaten June 14, 1987, as she claimed.
The suit stemmed from an argument five years ago between Maldonado and her twin sister over who was to care for a litter of kittens. The dispute became so heated that deputies from the Temple Station were summoned.
Maldonado, who was recovering from kidney surgery at the time, claimed that deputies Michael Soop and Kenneth Vogel beat her with a baton, hogtied her and kneed her in the back, causing severe injuries.
The deputies testified that an enraged Maldonado yelled obscenities, spit on them and struck one of them. After being placed in a patrol car, she tried to kick out the windows until they responded with force to restrain her, the deputies said.
Jurors told attorneys on Thursday that their verdict was based on the lack of medical records documenting the injuries alleged by Maldonado.
Maldonado was acquitted in a 1988 criminal trial of battery against the deputies.
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