NC Cops Sued After Black GA Librarian Pulled Out Of Car By Hair

SALISBURY, NC — Two North Carolina law enforcement agencies are accused of violating civil rights and using excessive force after a traffic stop captured on body cameras showed officers pulling a 67-year-old Black librarian out of her vehicle by her hair at gunpoint.

The woman was stopped for speeding 10 mph over the posted limit, and she tore her rotator cuff in the process, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week.

The incident occurred in late May 2019 as Georgia resident Stephanie Bottom traveled through Rowan County on Interstate 85 while en route to her aunt's funeral in Raleigh, according to court documents, Law & Crime reported.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina April 21.

SEE ALSO: Deputy Fatally Shot NC Black Man While Serving Warrant: Sheriff

Bottom was driving 10 mph above the posted speed limit when a Rowan County sheriff's deputy initiated the traffic stop, according to the filing.

She was listening to loud music while driving and did not initially realize officers were attempting to pull her over, The Charlotte Observer reported.

She began looking for a safe place to pull over because she "feared the police and did not want to pull off on the side of the road along the interstate," the filing said.

What came next, according to the lawsuit, was harrowing.

Officers pulled alongside her vehicle as she sought a spot to stop, and according to radio traffic, identified her as "an older Black female," the lawsuit said. Citing body camera footage, a Salisbury Police Department officer became impatient with Bottom, and called her a "f---king retard," and "douche bag," adding that it was an "exciting chase" and that he was "at the edge of my seat."

Another officer pulled ahead of her and deployed spike strips, which prompted Bottom's vehicle to come to an immediate stop along the interstate median.

At least two officers then approached her vehicle with guns drawn, screaming at her to exit the vehicle. "Plaintiff was terrified by the officers threatening deadly force with their guns drawn," the filing stated. She had difficulty exiting her SUV and "within five seconds" of approaching her door with guns drawn, officers grabbed her "by her arm and hair and threw her from her Toyota Sequoia to the ground," placing their arms and knees on her back as she laid face down, it said.

She screamed in pain, but officers ignored her as she attempted to tell officers that a "previous injury prevented her from putting her hands behind her back," the filing said. The officers forced her arms, tearing her rotator cuff, which required a later surgery and left permanent damage, it said.

Officers later called for medical assistance to treat Bottom's injuries, but following her hospitalization, did not arrest her. Instead, they issued her a summons for speeding 80 mph in a 70 mph zone, failing to heed blue lights and resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer. When she appeared in court, she plead responsible for failure to heed blue lights, at which point, the other charges were dismissed, the filing stated.

Comments cited in the filing include officer comments from body camera footage that included, "that's good police work baby," alleged bragging about grabbing a "handful of dreads" and that "at that point she earned it."

Following the court filing, the City of Salisbury issued a statement, saying, "The Salisbury Police Department strives for positive interactions with our residents and visitors, including in cases where we may suspect criminal activity. As is standard, we are unable to comment on pending litigation."

Lawsuit documents filed Wednesday may be found here.