'You bashed my face on the road'; NC trooper: did not use excessive force on motorist
ASHEVILLE - A federal judge could decide in a week whether to skip a trial and rule in favor of a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper accused of excessive force by a Macon County motorist.
At a Sept. 5 hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Max Cogburn watched highway patrol videos of an encounter five years ago between Heather Gunn and Trooper Brandon Padgett in which Gunn, 51, struggled to stay out of handcuffs and yelled at Padgett, 36, "You bashed my face on the road."
Most of what Padgett's attorney said was a seven-minute period in which the trooper was trying to get Gunn into handcuffs was not visible on the video, which appeared to be taken by a dashboard camera.
Padgett could be heard in video footage telling Gunn to put her hands behind her back and to stop moving during her June 23, 2018 arrest for driving while impaired, a charge later dropped in Superior Court. While the DWI was dropped as part of a plea deal, Gunn pleaded no contest to resisting an officer.
But In 2021 she brought the civil suit against Padgett in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville. Gunn, who said she weighs 125 pounds, said she suffered brain and spinal injuries after Padgett, who she said weighed 250 pounds, put his knee in her back while on top of her. A photo she submitted as evidence shows her face heavily bruised. She is asking for yet unspecified monetary damages.
In court filings and at the most recent hearing Padgett's attorney said there was no need for a trial and argued for a summary judgment in favor of the trooper. That was because there were no issues of material facts to be dealt with since Padgett did not violate Gunn's rights, and even if he had, he would have immunity as a law enforcement officer, said Special N.C. Deputy Attorney General Adam Moyers.
Moyers said Padgett made the arrest after coming upon Gunn at a single-vehicle accident on N.C. 28 north of Franklin. He decided to arrest her after two required blood alcohol tests ― one positive and one with "no result" ― and also after noting what Moyers called Gunn's "unique behavior." In the videos she talked for long periods of time with Padgett and others at the accident scene, thanking them multiple times.
Responding, Cogburn said "she did have a blow to the head." The judge said he planned to rule on the summary judgment motion in a week.
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In court, Gunn, who is representing herself, criticized her arrest and the force the much larger trooper used in putting her in the handcuffs.
"There was no need to push my head down, to mash my head into the ground," she said.
Cogburn, though, pointed out she was struggling.
"What was he supposed to do ― besides turn you loose?" he said.
Gunn said he could have pushed her against the side of the car.
The judge said a key question was whether the techniques Padgett used were necessary.
Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Woman sues NC trooper for excessive force in Macon County DWI stop
