A Woman Allegedly Beaten after Requesting a Tampon Sues Deputies
Audra West was arrested in a swimming suit and skirt and placed in Pompano Beach Jail in April 2014. While in a waiting room at the jail, her menstruation started and she asked a female deputy for a tampon. When her requested was denied, West cursed the deputy, which allegedly caused the deputy to become enraged. Waiting room footage shows that West was grabbed and pushed across the waiting room, and another deputy became involved. She was soon moved into a strip search room, where there is no camera. There, West claims a total of five deputies with Broward County hit and pummeled her body and face badly enough to cause extensive bruising. She bailed out in two days and, four days later, filed a complaint with the internal affairs division of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. The former prisoner is suing the Broward Sheriff and five deputies for excessive force, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Files show that the deputy who originally grabbed West and shoved her across the waiting room did not write anything about the incident until West filed the complaint with internal affairs. After the investigation began, the deputy filed criminal charges against West, alleging that she resisted arrest and assaulted her. The deputy claimed that she suffered skinned knees and a facial injury, which were injuries she did not report at the time of the incident.
The video footage in the waiting room appears to partially corroborate West’s claims, since a total of four deputies are seen going into the room with no camera, where she was taken seconds after allegedly angering the deputy with her words.
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