A federal lawsuit which claimed Waveland Police Officers used excessive force when they Tased a pregnant woman in February 2010, has been dismissed.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola issued a 25-page judgment in favor of the city of Waveland and four of its former officers.
The suit--Dawn Daigre versus Waveland, former police chief Jimmy Varnell, and former officers Clay Necaise, Henry Bouganin, Joshua Poyadou, and Christopher Allen--was filed in federal court in Gulfport in December 2010.
Daigre's attorney Brian Alexander said Friday he is "surprised and disappointed" in this week's ruling.
Daigre had claimed that she was in bed on the evening of Feb. 6, when a group of officers kicked in the door of her Waveland apartment while responding to a domestic disturbance complaint. Daigre was 28 and 16 weeks pregnant at the time of the incident.
In court documents, Daigre claimed officers pulled her from her bed, crashed into a wall, was Tased by officers during the melee, then arrested and handcuffed.
Daigre also testified in depositions that Necaise told her "you are white trash" and "I hate you."
Her suit claimed, among other things, that officers used excessive force, falsely arrest her, defamed her with their comments, caused emotional distress, and possibly harmed her unborn child.
A few months ago, the city filed a motion for summary judgment attacking all of Daigre's claims.
The city argued that since Daigre had later pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, she was not entitled to claims of false imprisonment.
It also argued that since the officers alleged comments to her were not published or made in a public place, defamation was not a valid claim either.
Alexander said Daigre pled guilty only because she was offered a plea to get out of jail, and that should not have absolved officers from liability.
"She was pregnant and scared," Alexander said. "She would have admitted to the 911 hijacking to get out of jail."
Guirola said in his ruling that the law was clear.
"Daigre protests in her pleadings that she entered a guilty plea simply so that she would be released from prison," Guirola sad. "That may be the case, but under the law, she cannot now seek damages based on an assertion that despite her guilty plea, she did not actually commit any offense."
The court also found since Daigre's child showed no ill effects, that claim is also not valid.
Guirola granted all of the city's requests in its motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case completely from federal jurisdiction.
The case could still be brought up in state court, however.
Alexander said Daigre is weighing her options and may consider bringing forward a state suit.
Waveland city attorney Gary Yarborough said the litigation was handled by the city's insurance carrier.
Yarborough said the city was "pleased" with the court's decision.
