Manhandled Horn-Honker Wins Case

A driver who was manhandled by a police officer after honking her horn at a car in front of her was awarded more than $200,000 by a jury Friday.

The jury decided Officer Louis Ferraro used excessive force in his 1997 arrest of Kim Lee, who said the officer handcuffed her and slammed her head on the trunk after she honked at a car stopped at a green light on a busy Miami street. Charges against Lee were later dropped.

The jury awarded Lee $225,000 in damages -- less than half the amount her attorney suggested. Ferraro retired after the lawsuit was filed.

“It was very easy to tell that this was a typical case of someone who wanted to exercise excessive power just because he carried a badge,” juror Olga Corpion said. “This should not happen again.”