On Nov. 20, 2009, plaintiff Zhivka Valiavicharska, 34, a graduate student at University of California Berkeley, was part of an organized protest of more than 2,000 demonstrators around Wheeler Hall. The crowd was protesting budget cuts and tuition raises, and had broken into Wheeler Hall during the night and barricaded themselves inside the building. At approximately 10 a.m., officers from the University of California Police Department erected barricades to form a perimeter around Wheeler Hall, when the protestors allegedly began chanting and throwing items. The protestors then allegedly pushed against the barricades, using them as weapons against the officers. While Valiavicharska was at the front of the barricades, her hand was struck with Officer Brendan Tinney’s baton, causing to her left pinky and ring fingers. Valiavicharska sued Tinney; the police chief of the University California Police Department, Mitch Celaya; and the chief of administration/services of the University of California Police Department, Margot Bennett. She alleged that Tinney violated her fourth amendment rights by using excessive force, and that Celaya and Bennett were negligent for inadequate supervision and discipline. Claims against Celaya and Bennett were ultimately dismissed via summary judgment prior to trial. Valiavicharska claimed that she was simply resting her hand on the barricades during the protest when Tinney struck her hand. Thus, she claimed that his actions violated her fourth amendment rights. Tinney contended that Valiavicharska, along with others, was shaking the barricade in direct violation of his and other officers’ orders. Thus, he claimed that it was necessary to stop the plaintiff and others from shaking the barricade to prevent it from being toppled. Defense counsel contended that the protest became violent, and that because the plaintiff repeatedly shook and rocked the barricade while disobeying orders from Tinney, the force used was reasonable., After being struck by Tinney’s baton, Valiavicharska went directly to the Tang Center on campus for urgent care. She was then transported by ambulance to an emergency room, where she was treated for a comminuted fracture of the tip of her pinky and a fracture of her ring finger. Valiavicharska subsequently underwent three surgeries over a period of seven months to repair the tip of her pinky. Valiavicharska claimed she can only partially bend her left pinky now. The court ruled that, under Howell, Valiavicharska’s medical damages were to be reduced from the claimed $34,000 to approximately $17,000. Valiavicharska sought recovery of damages for her past medical costs, and past and future pain and suffering. However, during closing arguments, plaintiff’s counsel did not ask the jury to award a specific amount. Defense counsel contended that Valiavicharska failed to comply with her doctor’s orders regarding the care of her finger following the first surgery. Counsel argued that had the plaintiff followed her doctor’s orders, she would not have required the two additional surgeries and would not have had residual range of motion problems in her finger joint.