This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Salt Lake County woman is suing a Unified police officer for allegedly breaking her arm and telling paramedics it was "better than shooting her in the back."
Crystal Talbot filed the civil complaint in 3rd District Court on Monday, accusing Officer Jonathan Bushnell — as well as naming Unified Police Department, Salt Lake County and Taylorsville as parties — of "willful and malicious" excessive force.
Unified Police Department declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday night.
On Oct. 9, 2014, the lawsuit states, Talbot called a suicide hotline "after a bout of depression." Later that day, Bushnell went to the woman's Taylorsville home for a welfare check; Talbot's husband told the officer that she was at work. Bushnell apparently returned, this time when Talbot was home, and insisted that the woman take an ambulance to a nearby hospital so she could receive treatment.
Talbot refused, noting that she was feeling better and could drive herself if she needed to. Bushnell told Talbot that she "had no choice," according to court documents, "and that he would forcibly take her" if she wouldn't go voluntarily.
When Talbot attempted to walk to the restroom, she says, Bushnell grabbed her, pushed her facedown onto a bed and attempted to handcuff her. Due to the force, he broke Talbot's right arm, the lawsuit states. When paramedics arrived, Talbot's husband says he overheard Bushnell telling them that Talbot resisted arrest and that breaking her arm was better than shooting her.
The fracture, Talbot said, permanently damaged nerves in her hand and arm that "will never be fully functional again." Because of her limited use of the limb, the lawsuit states, Talbot lost her job as a nurse, as well as her life-insurance policy. Additionally, her car was repossessed and she has difficultly performing "simple household functions, such as cooking a meal, grooming herself and cleaning the house."
Bushnell's actions, the lawsuit states, were "needlessly harsh, degrading, severe [and] dehumanizing." Talbot is suing over what she calls excessive force, unnecessary rigor, negligence, assault and battery, negligent training, negligent employment, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. She's asking for a jury trial and $300,000 in special damages, as well as compensation for attorney fees and general damages to be determined in court.
Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner