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Lawsuit names officer in highway police beating

By Charlene Muhammad -National Correspondent- | Last updated: Aug 11, 2014 - 4:20:38 PM

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‘We refuse to let the system fail her again’

LOS ANGELES - Lawyers for 51-year-old Marlene Pinnock have amended her civil rights lawsuit to name Daniel L. Andrew (#20470) as the California Highway Patrol officer shown on video brutally beating her on the side of a freeway.

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Marlene Pinnock is seen here pinned down and is savagely beaten by CHP Daniel L. Andrews.
The new complaint filed July 26 further names CHP Investigator “S. Taketa (#16454),” adds one count of conspiracy and reveals more details of Ms. Pinnock’s account of the July 1 assault.

“We believe the officer had been in contact with her one or two times before and those times may not have been exactly favorable so we believe he did know who she was,” said Atty. Caree Harper, who represents Ms. Pinnock.

“It really goes to question why he was writing a fraudulent report and listed her as a 37-year-old ‘Jane Doe’ when they knew her name,” she told The Final Call.

According to Ms. Pinnock, she told Ofc. Andrew she was leaving the area and began exiting the freeway off-ramp.  She said she was frightened by the man she described as approximately 6’2-6’4 and who was “arrogant acting with me.”  Ms. Pinnock, a grandmother is approximately 5’6, 150 pounds, her lawyers noted.

Ms. Pinnock, who believed at best it would be an infraction to be on the freeway off-ramp, also said she didn’t hear any commands from the officer.  “She was then suddenly violently thrown to the ground and according to her:  “he was bamming me in my temples with all the strength he had,” the complaint details.  “Stop, I didn’t do anything to you,” she pleaded.

It is reported, Ms. Pinnock remains afraid for her life and believes Ofc. Andrew and his co-workers will try to harm her in the future.  Her fears aren’t farfetched given the officer’s videotaped actions and lies he’s told in reports about the incident, argued her attorneys.

“Reports describe her as combative—she was not.  And ANDREW omitted his repeated unprovoked punches to the grandmother,” the lawsuit reads. In one report the officer said Ms. Pinnock called him the devil, the document continued.

“Whether or not Ms. Pinnock called him the devil is secondary to the fact that he proved that he was indeed the devil or a very close relative,” her attorneys rebutted in the complaint.

While her amended complaint names ‘D. Andrew’ as the civil servant who issued the unprovoked 10-15 punches to her temples and shoulders, CHP officials have not confirmed or denied he’s the officer on videotape.

“What makes me almost as frustrated by their failure to name or confirm the officer we have named is the fact that I’ve seen a photograph of a so-called civil rights leader patting the (CHP) commissioner on the back when he deserves a kick in the butt,” Atty. Harper told The Final Call.

“He does not deserve a pat on the back.  He is not doing all he can to bring justice to Marlene Pinnock.  He is doing all he can to cover his officer who beat someone and who attempted to murder our sister in the street,” she charged.

When questioned about the lawsuit, CHP spokesperson Robert Meyer said via email that the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation, but said the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division is assisting with the investigation, adding,“… a team of investigators is in the midst of conducting a complete, thorough and objective investigation to obtain all of the facts and evidence surrounding the incident.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Pinnock’s attorneys are very concerned she’ll need long lasting care.  They’ve established an account at Wells Fargo Bank (#5052) to help raise funds for her medical care, informed Atty. Harper.

“We don’t want the sister to fall between the cracks and be a forgotten member of society.  The system has failed her once and we refuse to let the system fail her again,” said Atty. Harper.