The female highway patrol trooper who made headlines for pulling over and arresting a speeding cop says she fears for her life as a result of stalking and harassment from fellow police officers.
Via The Sun Sentinel:
The Florida Highway Patrol trooper at the center of firestorm after she pulled over a speeding cop at gunpoint said fellow law enforcement officers have created a “life-threatening” situation that caused her to be in such fear for her safety she has become a “hermit.”
Trooper Donna “Jane” Watts’ 69-page lawsuit, filed in federal court Friday, seeks more than $1 million in damages. She is suing more than 100 police officers and agencies, and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The suit alleges 88 law enforcement officers from 25 jurisdictions illegally accessed her personal information more than 200 times, violating her privacy.
[…]in the months after the incident, officers looked up information such as her home address, picture, Social Security number, date of birth, and detailed vehicle description in a database available to police officers, according to her lawsuit.
The suit alleges the police agencies — including the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Lauderhill and Hollywood Police — did not properly train their officers, who used the information they received to intimidate Watts.
[…]Watts said after the incident she received random calls on her home and cell phones, some threatening. Pranksters ordered pizza delivery to her house, according to the suit. Watts, who lives on a cul-de-sac, said several vehicles would also stop in front of her driveway or idle on her street.
The suit states that Watts has been so upset about the privacy violations that she has “started to experience physical symptoms to include dry heaves and nausea when performing basic activities such as opening her mailbox, starting her ignition, or when being followed by a law enforcement vehicle for no apparent reason.”
Read the full story here.
Note, the cop she pulled over was allegedly a serial speeder, she caught him going over 120 mph and his only excuse for driving so reckless was he was “late” for his second job.