On Oct. 30, 2008, plaintiff Olga Cher, 43, an unemployed Russian immigrant, was walking her dog without a leash at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz. State Parks Peace Officer Eddie Rhee-Pizano stopped Cher and explained that her dog had to be leashed because an unleashed dog was a violation of the Code of Regulations. After asking Cher for her identification, Rhee-Pizano arrested her for delaying or obstructing a peace officer in violation of Penal Code §148. The Santa Cruz police officers subsequently arrived at the scene to assist and as a result, Cher spent four hours in jail. The District Attorney dismissed the Penal Code §148 charge in exchange for Cher’s “no contest” plea to having her dog off-leash. Cher sued the California Department of Parks and Recreation and Rhee-Pizano. She alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted excessive force, intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery by a peace officer, sexual battery, negligence and violation of her civil rights based upon her gender and nationality. Defense counsel contended that Cher refused to produce her identification in response to Rhee-Pizano’s lawful demand and attempted to leave. Rhee-Pizano claimed that after explaining to Cher three times that she was being detained and was required to produce identification, he arrested her. He further claimed that Cher violently resisted arrest and that he was not able to get her handcuffed until Santa Cruz police officers arrived at the scene to assist., Cher suffered some bruising on her wrists from the handcuffs. The day after she was released, Cher went to Kaiser hospital and was prescribed Advil. She also claimed a bruise on her left leg, but she did not seek treatment for that. Cher also claimed that she suffered a severe case of delayed-onset post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident, which reminded her of several previous traumatic encounters with the KGB while she was living in Russia and the Ukraine. In addition, she claimed that as a result of the 2008 incident, she is now afraid of men. Cher obtained psychological treatment at Kaiser for four months and then stopped treatment because she felt it was no longer necessary. However, she resumed psychological treatment 14 months later after she filed the lawsuit and defense counsel propounded discovery concerning her damages.