Krystal Gardner is suing two male officers and the Westland Police Department, for $2 million over the assault she alleges happened Aug. 18. The 25-year-old Wayne woman was in custody after being arrested because of a domestic dispute involving her sister, when she was reportedly beaten and abused.
Gardner said the officers further humiliated her by causing her skirt to lift up and exposing her vaginal area when they kicked her between the legs.
“It was the most humiliating and most horrible situations I have ever been in,” Gardner said. While in a press conference with her attorney, Arnold Reed, Gardner stated that she was ambushed in her cell, beaten until one of her eyes was swollen shut, her nose bled, and she was nearly knocked unconscious.
Although Gardner admits she had been banging on the walls of her cell, she says it was only because she was being denied her diabetes medication and a blanket.
WATCH THIS VIDEO ABOUT THE BEATING OF A WOMAN IN JAIL
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“I’m sitting down and he just comes in and jumps on me. The other officer comes in later and continues to beat me as well,” she said. “I was screaming for help.” Gardner said she spent two days recovering from her injuries in the hospital.
Reed says there is a cover-up on the side of police department because the original charges of domestic violence were dropped, and Gardner is now being charged with assault and battering of a police officer instead. Her attorney also said he has jail video that will support his case.
“They humiliated her. They called her a series of names, including the ‘B’ word, a whore and animal,” Reed said. “This was a complete breakdown of the justice system.”
According to a police report, the officers used force because Gardner spit in the officers’ faces, and assaulted them. Westland’s police chief did not return phone calls on the matter.