Two individuals were arrested late in 2009 after leaving a bar in Baltimore. They were taken into custody by four policemen, who alleged that one of the two, a 32-year-old male, had committed second-degree assault during an altercation with two of the officers. Recently, the 30-year-old female who was arrested with the male has filed a lawsuit against Baltimore County, accusing the arresting officers and the Baltimore County Police Department of assaulting her and violating her constitutional rights.

There are at least two different accounts of what happened the night the duo was arrested. The woman said that her male friend got into a disagreement with a bar employee before they left earlier in the night. The employee had called 911, and police arrived on the scene.

Police claim the man was uncooperative. He was asked for identification, but did not present it and allegedly wrestled with two of the four officers as they attempted to arrest him. The woman began to scream at the police and began recording the situation with her cellphone after she was told to leave. She was arrested after she ignored warnings from the officers, and her phone was taken as evidence.

The 42-second cellphone video clip shows an officer approaching her and removing the cellphone from her hands without her making a sound. In the police report, it said that she was screaming and struggling during her arrest.

The woman is seeking $1 million in punitive damages. The misdemeanor charges that were brought against her -- failure to obey a lawful order, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct -- were eventually dropped. The man's charges were placed on the inactive docket.

The lawsuit shows the power that regular citizens have to stand up to alleged police harassment. The fact that the charges were eventually dropped lends credence to the theory that she did nothing wrong in the first place.

Source: The Baltimore Sun, "Woman sues Balto. Co. police, claims assault, rights violations," Arthur Hirsch, Jan. 1, 2012