State senator sues Sacramento, accuses police of fabricating evidence in 'retaliatory' DUI arrest
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A California state senator alleges that police officers fabricated evidence to falsely accuse her of driving under the influence after she was T-boned at an intersection near the state Capitol.Their motive, she claims, was discriminatory bias and a piece of legislation she wrote that law enforcement agencies did not like.Now, she is suing the city of Sacramento alleging “a deliberate and unlawful campaign to falsely accuse, arrest, and discredit her.”On Monday, state Sen.
Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) filed a federal lawsuit against the city as well as the police officers who cited her for driving under the influence in May.The Sacramento district attorney’s office declined to file charges after a blood test showed there were no traces of drugs or alcohol in her system.Cervantes accuses officers of pushing forward with an arrest despite lacking probable cause and building a case against her based on false statements.
She said officers submitted false information to the DMV, forcing her to retain a lawyer to stop her license from being suspended or revoked, according to the complaint.The Riverside County legislator alleges that this conduct was in retaliation for a bill she authored seeking to restrict how law enforcement agencies store and use data from automatic license plate readers.She claims that officers discriminated against her as an LGBTQ Latina woman and provided more respectful treatment to the white woman who was at fault in the crash.Cervantes further alleges that unknown parties within the Sacramento Police Department leaked news of her arrest to the press in a deliberate attempt to tarnish her reputation.
Representatives for both the city and the Police Department said Monday that they were unable to comment on pending litigation.“This case is about the abuse of power,” Cervantes’ attorney James Quadra said in a statement Monday.
“Officers ignored...