Black mother and two daughters awarded $8.25 million after arrest on suspicion of auto theft

A black family in Las Vegas has been awarded $8.25 million in damages after they were dragged from their car at a Bay Area Starbucks by two white lawmakers looking for local car thieves.

The three women argued that they were chosen because of their race and, thanks to California’s Bane Act, which allows damages awarded to be tripled, if lawyers can prove that a person’s civil rights have been violated, they will receive the substantial sum.

Aasylei Loggervale was traveling with her daughters Aaottae, then 17, and 19-year-old Aasylei Hardege-Loggervale when they stopped at the Castro Valley Starbucks in September 2019.

The trio were on their way to Berkeley City College where one of the teenagers was due to take a math test.

During a coffee break and a break, the family was confronted by two Alameda County state deputies, Steven Holland and Monica Pope — both of whom were white.

Aasylei Loggervale is pulled from her car outside a Starbucks in California’s Castro Valley in September 2019

MPs told the trio that they are looking for suspects in a series of car thefts.

Loggervale refused to provide her ID, asking the officer, “What kind of crime did I commit?”

According to the court documents, “Loggervale did not want to be involved further with the defendants because, as a black woman, she feared that the encounter could result in serious physical harm or death to her and/or her daughter.”

She “said they had done nothing wrong and had no connection to any auto break-ins,” according to the lawsuit.

Holland then ordered all three family members out of the car and arrested them, body camera video shows.

Police officers, who gave no reason for their arrest, handcuffed the family and “forced” them into a squad car, the lawsuit says.

The family was held for several minutes without a summons or charge.

All three had abrasions on their wrists and arms and suffered from “emotional distress, anxiety (and) embarrassment,” the lawsuit says.

Steven Holland, an Alameda County Assemblyman, arrested the family

Holland was accompanied by Deputy Monica Pope

The Loggervale family accused deputies of racially profiling them when they arrested the trio while they were looking for car thieves

The jury ruled that the officer’s conduct was “unlawful” and that Holland and Alameda County together must pay $2.75 million to the mother and $2 million to each daughter, while Pope and the county must pay $750,000 to each daughter , according to the final order.

Craig Peters, one of the Loggervales’ attorneys, said the family brought the case to see how the MPs would be tried.

“This is a vindication and acknowledgment to the Loggervales that they have been wronged and that means a lot,” he said.

“They are quite a private family.

“But they felt what happened was really wrong, and so they were prepared to file the lawsuit and try to hold the sheriff’s office accountable.”

Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez said she could not comment.

“The community’s trust in my agency is fundamental to my mission to maintain a positive relationship with those we serve,” she said in a statement to CBS News.

“The facts of this case are extremely important to me and our community members, however I must reserve my comments until the case has been fully resolved by the court system.”

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk