AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman filed a lawsuit Monday against the city of Austin and a former Austin Police Department officer over the officer’s alleged excessive force used while detaining the woman in downtown Austin on Dec. 7, 2024.
Edwards Law and Natalie Gialenes, a resident of Mendocino County, California, filed the suit on Monday. According to a press release from Edwards Law, Gialenes suffered a brain injury after former APD Officer Joseph Spees “slammed Ms. Gialenes onto the ground while she was handcuffed,” the release stated.
APD referred a request for comment on the lawsuit to the city. A spokesperson for the city of Austin responded to a request for comment via email Monday evening, saying, “The City has not yet been served with this lawsuit, but will review it and respond appropriately.”
According to Edwards Law, Gialenes was visiting Austin from South Carolina at the time of the incident. Gialenes “required hospitalization for a traumatic brain injury and had to withdraw from paralegal school,” according to the law firm…