Lawsuit: Cops Spray Woman’s Vagina With Mace To Punish Her

According to court records, police arrested Tapia for a probation violation tied to a previous drug case. While at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Tapia said two officers strip searched her and asked her to bend over at the waist.

That’s when they noticed a plastic baggie protruding from Tapia’s vagina.

Instead of taking Tapia to a doctor to have the baggie removed, she said one of the officers — Blanca Zapater — sprayed a chemical agent directly on her genitals twice.

Simonson said the chemical agent was mace.

Tapia said she suffered “severe pain that lasted for several weeks including burning, swollen genitals and painful urination,” according to the court records.

Simonson said ACLU of New Mexico has never litigated a case like this before and that it stands out.

“It’s just the maliciousness, the wanton disregard, wanton maliciousness that the corrections officer demonstrated,” he said. “This is the kind of chemical that is intended to be sprayed on other parts of the body, to cause pain, but to spray it on the very most sensitive part of a person’s body only doubles the pain.”

Simonson believes that the officer not only violated basic Constitutional rights, but jail policy as well.
The policy states that “Chemical agents are only used when there is a threat to the safety of staff or inmates.”
Simonson said Tapia was cooperative with officers.

“Our client did not resist the corrections officers, she didn’t give them fight,” he said.

Staff at the Metropolitan Detention Center declined to comment on the case, but confirmed that the Zapater is still on staff after she was hired in November 2008.

REFERENCE ARTICLE:
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3…