LOS ANGELES : Jail Employee Awarded $1.2 Million From City

A jury awarded $1.2 million Monday to a jail employee who sued the city and two police officers in connection with a 1991 altercation outside police headquarters.

Jennifer Jones, 43, and her attorney applauded the award, which came after a weeklong civil trial and a week of deliberations by a Superior Court jury.

“We’re both very happy with the outcome,” said attorney Charles J. Mazursky. “It was a long, hard fight for Jennifer Jones to get her name restored and her reputation vindicated.”

On a 10-2 vote, the jury found the officers 80% at fault and Jones 20% at fault for the confrontation. Finding Jones partially at fault reduced her award from more than $1.4 million to $1.2 million.

Jones, a civilian, claimed that she was accosted by the officers and struck in the legs with a baton for no reason as she trotted--late for work--across the police headquarters parking lot.

Officer Michael Daly and former Officer John Puis told a different story, saying Jones became belligerent when they stopped her in the parking lot and asked her identity. They contend that Jones was hit with the baton only after she shoved one of them and struck the other in the forehead.

Jones denied that, saying she called out her name and ID number over her shoulder as she hurried across the parking lot, but said Daly was unsatisfied so he confronted her.