SALISBURY, N.C. – The city of Salisbury will pay $125,000 to a woman who says a Salisbury police officer pulled her out of her vehicle by her hair during a traffic stop in 2019.
Five years later, a settlement was reached between 70-year-old librarian, Stephanie Bottom, and law enforcement officials in Rowan County.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in 2021, sought compensation for the officers’ unlawful use of force against Bottom, including the alleged decision to pull the 70-year-old from her vehicle by her hair, as well as for their search of her purse and vehicle, following a 2019 traffic stop for speeding, according to court documents filed in the case.
According to EmancipateNC.org, the senior Counsel Ian Mance represented Bottom in partnership with N.C Central University School Of Law Civil Litigation Clinic. Students at the university assisted councils throughout the case.
The incident garnered considerable attention when it was released to the public and aired on several national television broadcasts. Despite having the public’s eye on the situation, the Salisbury Police Department reportedly fought for more than two years to have the case dismissed. It was reported that the department believed officers were justified in using force against Bottom because she did not heed their blue lights for approximately five minutes after they initiated the stop.
A summary judgment was held at the end of 2022. After a year, U.S. District Judge Willliam L. Olsteen issued a 59-page opinion, ruling in favor of Bottom. Olsteen concluded that Officer Devin Barkalow used excessive force and that Officer Adam Bouk’s search of Bottom’s purse and vehicle violated her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches. Bottom v. City of Salisbury, et al., slip op., at 21, 34, & 51 (M.D.N.C. Aug. 14, 2023)
Bottom released the following statement according to EmancipationNC.org
“Police officers cannot treat people the way they treated me,” said Ms. Bottom, who continues to work as a librarian in Atlanta. “If I was guilty for not stopping right away or speeding, it didn’t call for what you did to me. I have flashbacks from being pulled by my hair. The handcuffs injured my shoulder and I still feel the effects. I filed this lawsuit because I wanted the officers to recognize what they did was wrong. The judge’s ruling makes it clear they used excessive force and that the search was illegal. That’s what I’ve been fighting for. I’m happy to reach a settlement and have it resolved.”
