Lawsuit alleges Alameda County deputies assaulted hospitalized woman
(KRON) — A federal civil rights lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputies assaulted a woman while she was in a hospital. Attorney Adante Pointer shared a video (above) that showed deputies putting their hands on the plaintiff.
The woman, Malia Ashad, suffered head injuries while at the Alameda Superior County Court in Hayward on Aug. 9, 2022, Pointer’s office said. She was in court for a “private family matter,” her attorneys said. While she was there, a woman attacked her and struck her in the head with a cell phone, according to a press release sent out by Pointer & Buelna, LLP.
According to Pointer, after the woman’s assault, deputies also struck Ashad, causing her to hit her head on a table and lose consciousness.
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The video appears to show the woman hit Ashad in the head repeatedly. It later shows Ashad handcuffed, being led out of the courtroom by deputies. It does not show what happened in between these two incidents.
Ashad was taken to Kaiser San Leandro Medical Center for her injuries. Medical staffers determined she needed a CT scan, but Pointer said the deputies disagreed with that and said she “was going to jail.”
“We’re not taking her to CT for anything. All I need her is cleared for incarceration. She’s going to jail,” a woman, identified by the law firm as Sgt. Ruth Jones, says in the video.
The video then shows deputies holding Ashad to the bed with hands on her neck and face. She can be heard saying “You just hit me. I can’t breathe.” According to the press release by her lawyers, she was punched, grabbed by the throat and slammed onto her hospital bed.
ACSO said in response to a KRON4 inquiry that “the released clips are a limited and skewed depiction of the incident and do not represent the totality of what occurred.” The video put out by Pointer says the deputies were “frustrated that Ashad demanded medical treatment” before the physical incident.
Ashad never got a CT scan and was taken to jail, Pointer said. All criminal charges against her were dismissed. The sheriff’s office said she “received appropriate medical treatment.” Read the full statement from the sheriff’s office below.
“The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the release of information from Adonte Pointer et al. that included clips from body-worn camera footage, presumably obtained during criminal proceedings from an August 2022 case that involved the complainant.
The released clips are a limited and skewed depiction of the incident and do not represent the totality of what occurred. Beyond stating that the complainant received appropriate medical treatment during that incident, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office must reserve further comment on a lawsuit for which we have not received service.”
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