A woman, Malia Ashad, has filed a federal lawsuit against several sheriff’s deputies, accusing them of assaulting her while she was hospitalized and awaiting a CT scan at the Kaiser Permanente San Leandro Medical Center in California.
According to the lawsuit filed on February 1, 2022, Ashad was already injured when deputies allegedly punched her in the head, grabbed her throat, and left a boot imprint on her back on August 9, 2022.
The incident began at a civil hearing in Alameda County Superior Court on the same day, where Ashad was attacked by a woman she had a restraining order against.
Video footage shared by Ashad’s attorneys shows the alleged attacker repeatedly hitting Ashad in the head and face with a cellphone in the courtroom.
Upon expecting assistance from deputies, Ashad claims she was instead forcefully apprehended, handcuffed, and taken to a room where she lost her balance, hit her head on a table, and fell to the floor.
She alleges further assault by deputies in the emergency room while she was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
Ashad accuses the deputies of violating her civil rights and is seeking unspecified damages. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office states they have only learned of the lawsuit through media inquiries and emphasized that released clips are a limited and skewed depiction of the incident.
The charges against Ashad in August 2022 were dropped, according to her legal counsel.
The lawsuit claims that the deputies prevented Ashad from receiving a CT scan as they intended to take her to jail. Ashad’s insistence on a hospital gown was reportedly viewed as refusal of medical treatment by the deputies, leading to further alleged assaults.
The incident raises questions about the treatment of individuals in custody, especially when seeking medical attention, and highlights the need for accountability in law enforcement actions.
Ashad is demanding a jury trial to determine the alleged callousness, brutality, and arrogance displayed by the deputies during the incident.
