Two girls filed a lawsuit in opposition to LA County this week following an allegedly abusive visitors cease by LA County Sheriff’s Division of a home abuse survivor advocate on her strategy to ship furnishings to a shelter final yr.

The ordeal began on September 25, 2022, in response to KTLA. Advocate Gabriela Koutantos was driving a U-Haul van in East LA whereas her mom, Barbara Kappos, trailed her in her personal car. Koutantos rented the van to carry donated furnishings to a neighborhood girls’s shelter.

LA County Sheriff’s Division deputies, believing the van was stolen, executed a “high-risk” visitors cease close to Atlantic Boulevard and Hubbard Road. They allegedly held Koutantos at gunpoint, handcuffed her and “held her in a prolonged detention in a police automotive,” in response to her criticism.

When Koutantos mom arrived on the website of the visitors cease to see sheriffs had Koutantos on the bottom.

Ms. Kappos acquired out of her automotive and ran up the road towards her daughter shouting, “What are you doing? That’s my daughter!” Not one of the deputies responded as they continued pointing their weapons at Ms. Koutantos. Ms. Kappos thought the deputies may kill her daughter,” the criticism provides.

Based on Koutantos lawyer, even after contacting U-Haul and confirming that she had rented the van and seeing the rental settlement, the sheriff’s deputies held Koutantos for “a substantial time period.” After some extra checking it seems the van had been stolen over a month earlier and it had been recovered inside per week of it being stolen. Koutantos had nothing to do with the theft.

Now Koutantos and her mom suing the LA County Sheriff’s Division. Their lawyer is accusing the division of utilizing “high-risk” techniques throughout low-risk visitors stops for nonviolent potential property crime, in response to KTLA:

The “terrifying and traumatizing techniques” threatened Koutantos’ bodily security and precipitated emotional misery to her and her mom, in response to the criticism.

The ladies’s lawyer alleges that the “high-risk” visitors stops have already been declared unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit Court docket of Attraction almost 10 years in the past, however “the Sheriff’s Division has defied the Court docket and continues to terrify and traumatize harmless Angelenos.”

It’s doable the LASD might have violated  a 2014 ruling by U.S. Ninth Circuit Court docket of Appeals that deemed such stops unconstitutional. “LASD is sworn to uphold the regulation, however they’ve a deliberate coverage that violates the Structure day-after-day. It’s outrageous. They should be held accountable,” Koutantos’ legal professional Brian Olney informed KTLA.