TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - A Tallahassee woman is suing the City of Tallahassee police for what she claims was a wrongful DUI arrest.
Kristina Lawrence filed a civil lawsuit alleging false arrest, assault, battery, and Fourth Amendment Violations.
The case has been sent to federal court.
Court documents show Lawrence was driving her car on Nov. 20, 2021, when she struck a curb and got a flat tire.
She claims she contacted the Tallahassee Police Department and AAA for assistance. Court records show two TPD officers arrived, and she claims she told them she was unsure how the wreck happened.
The suit alleges the responding officers did not help and instead told Lawrence to sit in her car.
Another TPD Officer from the DUI unit responded, and the suit claims the patrol officers told the other officer that Lawrence didn't know how the crash happened and commented that her eyes appeared "droopy."
TPD Officer Gary Roy approached Lawrence and asked about the wreck. Documents show Lawrence told Roy she had struck the curb and that she was trying to make a left-hand turn and didn't feel her tire go flat.
Lawrence claims Roy asked for her license, which was in her car that sat on the side of the road despite her asking to move the vehicle.
The suit alleges Roy escorted her to get her licensed and that within a few minutes of arriving at the car, Roy said "You know what," and "forcefully grabbed her right arm and spun her around to face backward."
Lawrence said she was tightly handcuffed behind her back, and Roy told her she was being arrested for Driving Under the Influence. The suit claims she immediately asked to speak with a supervisor but was denied.
She also, according to court documents, asked that her handcuffs be loosened because of her "severe discomfort." That request was also denied, per the suit.
Lawrence claims the officer did not administer a field sobriety test, and she asked again to speak with a supervisor. Officer Roy then put her in his patrol vehicle, per court documents.
Once she was in the patrol car, the suit claims Roy then asked her to submit to a breathalyzer. She again claims she asked to speak with a supervisor.
According to the filing, Roy allegedly told Lawrence that her request would be treated as a refusal to submit. Lawrence claims that she was not refusing the breathalyzer but wanted to speak with a sergeant.
The suit alleges Roy marked her as having refused and falsely arrested Lawrence for DUI and took her to the Leon County Jail.
The lawsuit claims Roy later spoke to a sergeant and falsely reported that Lawrence had no complaints and was "just mad she was going to jail."
Lawrence was released from jail at about 3 a.m. the next morning, per the suit.
Lawrence claims her shoulder was injured during the incident, and her wrists were discolored from the handcuffs. She said there was pain, tingling and weakness in her shoulder.
According to the lawsuit, Lawrence's doctor diagnosed her with torn right shoulder muscle, ulnar neuropathy at right elbow and several other medical issues.
Documents show Lawrence's charges were dismissed in December 2022.
In August, the City of Tallahassee and Officer Roy filed a motion to dismiss Lawrence's complaint.
In the motion for dismissal, the city claims that the standard handcuffing technique used on Lawrence was not a claim for excessive force.
The motion also claims Lawrence's arrest was supported by probable cause based on her "droopy" eyes.
The Tallahassee Police Department did not provide a comment about the lawsuit, citing ongoing litigation.