$45,000 Awarded to Probationer Subject to Overzealous Probation Officer
$45,000 Awarded to Probationer Subject to Overzealous Probation Officer
An arbitrator awarded Washington State probationer Mark S. Rice $44,515 in a claim alleging negligence, emotional distress, and aggravation of a preexisting elbow injury. Washington Department of Corrections Community Corrections Officer Jenny Sheriden was alleged to have overstepped her boundaries when she required Rice to take a polygraph test in November 2006.
A Superior Court judge had denied a request that Rice take the polygraph, and when Rice told Sheridan he was not taking it, she arrested him. When the State failed to set a hearing, Rice’s lawyer set one, at which the judge ordered Rice released. Not pleased with that result, Sheridan waited outside the jail, arrested Rice again, and took him to another prison.
After another hearing, the judge again ordered Rice released. In addition to the negligence and emotional distress claims, Rice claimed an existing elbow injury was aggravated by being handcuffed for an hour behind his back while riding in a car after the second arrest. The matter was settled through arbitration on January 9, 2008. See: Rice v. State of Washington, Pierce County, Case No: 07-2-09131-4.
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Related legal case
Rice v. State of Washington
| Year | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Pierce County, Case No: 07-2-09131-4 |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 45,000.00 |