A jury in Northern California awarded a Black family a record $8.25 million last week after they were detained by deputies outside of a Starbucks in 2019.
The lawsuit stemmed from an incident that occurred in September 2019 when Aasylei Loggervale drove her two daughters from Nevada to California for college. The family was stopped by Alameda County sheriff’s deputies at a Starbucks in Castro Valley.
According to CBS News, the lawsuit alleges two deputies told the women they were searching for suspects in connection with a string of car thefts and asked the women for their identification.
Loggervale refused to show the deputies identification. After the family exited the vehicle, Loggervale was detained and handcuffed, along with her daughters, the lawsuit alleged.
Video of the encounter can be seen here.
According to CBS News, attorneys for the Loggervales claimed that the deputes involved in the incident, who are both White, stopped their clients because they are Black. The complaint accused the two deputies of assault, battery, false arrest and several other charges.
Last week, a jury unanimously ruled against the deputies. One of the deputies and Alameda County together will have to pay $2.75 million to the mother and $2 million to each daughter, and the other deputy along with the county will have to pay $750,000 to each daughter.
The Alameda County sheriff’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
More about the lawsuit can be found here.
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