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Woman Wrongly Arrested While Naked Wins $2.4 Million Lawsuit

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A Colorado County paid a woman $2.4 million after a woman sued for a wrongful arrest.

Carolyn O’Neal sued the sheriff’s office in Fremont County after she was arrested while naked during a welfare check back in 2014, according to an article published Sunday by the Denver Post.

O’Neal informed the three responding officers that she was not going to hurt herself and that she was naked before officers used a key to enter her home, the outlet reported. O’Neal had been preparing a bath at the sober living facility she resided at, in Cañon City. (RELATED: Man Who Was Wrongfully Arrested In 2016 Saves Police Officer From Burning Car)

O’Neal was naked when she was arrested by officers and naked when they took her to jail, according to the Denver Post. She was reportedly tased twice even though her legs were restrained and wearing a spit mask.

“This was an outrageous case,” O’Neal’s attorney, David Lane, told the Denver Post on Sunday.

“Law enforcement officers who believed they were above the law got smacked down hard by a jury,” Lane continued, the outlet reported. “And unfortunately, this costs the taxpayers of Fremont County a lot of money. But I hope it inspires the citizenry to demand accountability from law enforcement — otherwise, it’s coming out of their pockets.”

O’Neal was originally awarded $3.6 million by a jury, but was lowered to $2.1 million by a federal judge, the outlet reported. Fremont County Sheriff’s Office originally appealed the ruling, but later dropped the appeal and settled with O’Neal for $2.4 million.

O’Neal was originally charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, but all charges have since been dropped against her. Deputies have also admitted that O’Neal should have been taken to a hospital at the time of her arrest, according to Fox 31.

“The police were called by management, her mother was dying, she was depressed and she made some offhand statement about ‘things are going so great, I feel like I should drive my car off a cliff,’” Lane recalled O’Neal saying prior to her arrest.