Cops Pay Off Grandma After Beating Her Up

A grandmother who accused a Worcester police officer of slamming her to the floor in a racially motivated outburst in 2013 has settled her federal lawsuit with the city for $125,000.

The police officer accused in the case is still on the force. City officials Friday declined to state the results of the department’s internal investigation or say whether the officer faced discipline.

“I just wanted to get it over with,” said the woman, 63-year-old Daisy L. Morales, when reached by telephone regarding her decision not to go to trial. She said the prospect of facing Officer James Powers in court was too much to bear.

Ms. Morales alleged in a 2013 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that Officer Powers, who was described as a department veteran, insulted her race, beat her “mercilessly” and issued false charges to cover up his misdeeds.

According to her lawsuit, Officer Powers went to her Marble Street apartment three times on Feb. 23, 2013, responding to reports of disturbances. The third time, the suit alleges, Officer Powers “barged in” to her apartment and became “enraged” when he believed he was being lied to about a disturbance.

Officer Powers allegedly arrested a house guest of Ms. Morales in a rough manner when she criticized him for the way he spoke to Ms. Morales. Then, Ms. Morales alleged, Officer Powers turned his ire on the 5-foot, 4-inch, 135-pound grandmother after she uttered the words, “Oh my God, police brutality.”

“I will show you police brutality!” the lawsuit accused Officer Powers of saying before he allegedly “charged at the diminutive (woman), picked her off the ground, and body slammed her with all his might.”

Ms. Morales was charged with resisting arrest, keeping a disorderly house and disturbing the peace. She was not booked at the police station but was instead taken directly to the hospital, where, her lawsuit alleges, she was diagnosed with broken bones, including a broken shoulder.

The injuries required “extensive surgical procedures,” states the lawsuit, which demanded $1 million.

The lawsuit was filed four months after a Central District Court jury found Ms. Morales not guilty of the three charges levied against her.

In a statement of facts filed in court, Officer Power alleged that Ms. Morales prompted the arrest by continually screaming obscenities, and then resisted arrest by falling to the ground, balling herself up and refusing to allow her hands to be cuffed.

Court documents indicated that Ms. Morales’ lawyer argued against the resisting arrest charge by saying that Officer Powers used excessive force.

Included in the court file were several photos of Ms. Morales, including one that showed her with a black eye and another that showed extensive bruising to her arm and right breast.

Ms. Morales on Friday stood by her allegations, including her contention that Officer Powers discriminated against her because of her race.

There was no indication from court records that Ms. Morales would have been well-known to police. She was arrested one other time in the city over the past 16 years – a 1999 domestic violence arrest in which the charges against her were dropped.

The Telegram & Gazette on Thursday requested all internal affairs records concerning Officer Powers – records that, under state law, are supposed to be public.

A city spokesman said Friday that the Police Department would treat the request as a public records request, which gives the agency 10 days to respond.

The city’s top lawyer, David M. Moore, confirmed that the Police Department investigates police officers any time a lawsuit is filed. He declined to state the results of the investigation into Officer Powers, saying the city has a policy of not commenting on personnel matters.

Mr. Moore did speak about the process by which police lawsuits are settled – a process which, from a legal standpoint, he said, comes down to risk analysis.

In this case, Mr. Moore, noting that the settlement does not mean the city admits any guilt, acknowledged that several factors would have worked against the city.

He noted that the woman’s advanced age was unusual for a case like this and that she also benefited from the fact that she had been cleared of the charges against her. Also a difficulty, he said, is that while Ms. Morales had witnesses sympathetic to her case, Officer Powers was the only police officer present when the arrest occurred.

Mr. Moore said in a case like this, it was wiser to settle than to “roll the dice” with a jury. An important fact to note, he said, is that if the city loses a jury case – even if the award is only $1 – it is liable to pay attorney’s fees for the other side that could top six figures.

As an example, Mr. Moore said, the city is currently fighting a request for nearly $250,000 in attorney’s fees filed by Wakeelah Cocroft, a woman who sued police alleging brutality in 2008.

Ms. Cocroft prevailed in her lawsuit, Mr. Moore said, but was awarded only $15,000.

“The request is way out of proportion to the judgment,” he noted.

Timothy J. Perry, Ms. Morales’ Boston lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment. Ms. Morales said Friday that her experience caused her to move out of the city and that she is staying with family in another state.

“I hope he doesn’t do this to anyone else,” Ms. Morales said, referring to Officer Powers.

The city in its response denied the allegations in court documents, other than admitting an allegation that another officer after the arrest adjusted Ms. Morales’ handcuffs from behind her to in front of her. Mr. Moore said Friday that race did not play a factor in the arrest.