Cindy Hahn, a California woman, is reportedly suing the city of Carlsbad, California and several police officers after being beaten by police in front of her two kids (aged 7 and 11) in 2013.
A complaint was filed late last week, and video captured by a bystander has surfaced. In that, you can hear the woman (presumably Cindy Hahn) telling a police officer, “I did nothing,” before additional backup vehicles arrive and more police surround her. One punches her in the face, and she screams for help. The person behind the camera says that she didn’t do a thing.
The Huffington Post got a look at the complaint, shedding more light on the events leading up to the incident. The publication reports:
According to the complaint, which was filed on Friday, Cindy Hahn and her children were leaving a friend’s birthday party on July 31, 2013 when they came across a car with its alarm going off. Hahn reportedly asked the officer why the police weren’t doing anything as the car alarm sounded. The officer allegedly yelled at her, telling her to “mind your f**king business.” Hahn then called a nonemergency police hotline to report the exchange, the report says.
When Hahn was driving home, she realized that the officer was following her before he pulled her over on an alleged seatbelt violation, according to the complaint. The officer allegedly had Hahn get out of the car, and he started beating her up while her children, ages 7 and 11, watched from the back seat. “While she was being beaten and pummeled, Ms. Hahn was crying out for help,” the complaint says.
Hahn’s attorney is Mark Geragos. The YouTube video is hosted on the Geragos & Geragos law firm’s channel.
CBS Los Angeles has an interview with Hahn in which she details her children screaming and watching and how her son still talks about it over two years later:
“The only thing that he’ll talk to me about is, ‘I couldn’t protect you, Mom. I could’ve. I could’ve got him off you. I could have helped you,” she said.
Here’s a glimpse of what the court of public opinion is saying about Cindy Hahn and the police officers involved:
Hahn, whose father is actually a retired officer, is seeking a jury trial for the case as well as an amount in damaged which has yet to be specified.