Video of arrest brings woman to tears

Greg Risling

SANTA ANA -- A 53-year-old woman whose left arm was broken during a

confrontation with Newport Beach police three years ago wept profusely as

she watched a videotape of the alleged abuse.

Laura Rooney, daughter-in-law of actor Mickey Rooney, said she was

frightened by the two officers who tried to handcuff her during a

narcotics-related arrest on Sept. 2, 1997. Rooney claims she was pinned

against a wall and injured when a jailer grabbed her arm and pushed it

upward behind her back.

Rooney was in the middle of her testimony for a civil lawsuit she filed

in 1998, alleging pain and suffering. She broke down when she viewed the

incident that was recorded at the Newport Beach City Jail. Rooney said

she initially resisted the officers because her wrists were swollen from

previously being placed in handcuffs.

“I started to become terrified because I didn’t want him to hurt me,” she

recounted. “He grabbed my wrist too hard and when he pulled it back, my

arm broke.

“It felt like my arm had separated from my body. It’s the worst pain I’ve

felt since I gave child birth.”

In the grainy tape, one officer appears to have a difficult time with

Rooney. Another officer appears moments later as Rooney begins screaming.

Rooney is barely visible as the officers corner her when her arm breaks.

The two officers maintain they followed regular procedure and Rooney

broke her arm while she was resisting arrest.

“They showed tremendous restraint,” said defense attorney Bruce Praet.

“The officer tried everything and went beyond what they would normally

do. It wasn’t the officers who broke her arm. She did it to herself.”

However, even after her arm was broken, Rooney’s right arm was handcuffed

to a gurney as she was taken to Hoag Hospital. A week after the incident,

pictures show her arm that is badly bruised and reportedly has nerve

damage.

Rooney is seeking compensation for loss of employment, medical bills and

emotional distress. Her attorney, Garo Mardirossian, said the value of

the case may reach the six-figure plateau area, but a monetary gain pales

in comparison to the excessive force allegedly displayed by Newport Beach

police.

“They were acting like brutal thugs, the kind of behavior you expect when

bookies don’t get their money,” he said. “This is a case about officers

violating the civil rights of a citizen. If they were a little more

patient and had her consider her options, we wouldn’t be here today.”

The case is the second in recent weeks in which abuse by Newport Beach

police has been alleged. The city agreed to pay $10,000 earlier this

month to an Orange County prosecutor who claimed he was assaulted by

police after leaving a Newport Boulevard bar. The plaintiff initially

sought $600,000, but settled for the lesser amount.

Defense attorneys said no such settlement will be struck in the Rooney

case.

Police arrested Rooney when they found one gram of crack cocaine in the

trailer home she shared with her husband, Mickey Rooney Jr.

She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years

of probation. She was also convicted on four other charges, including

resisting arrest, stemming from a 1996 case.