On Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008, at approximately 10:30 p.m., plaintiff Elizabeth Escalante, 24, pulled her vehicle over onto a residential street near the Silver Lake Boulevard exit in Los Angeles to smoke a cigarette before visiting her mother. While Escalante sitting in her stopped vehicle, two officers from the Los Angeles Police Department, Adams and Marquez, approached her. The officers subsequently questioned her during the traffic stop, and she eventually exited her vehicle. During the incident, Escalante’s arm was fractured, and she was arrested and charged with interfering with an investigation. The charge was ultimately dismissed. Escalante sued Officers Adams and Palacios, and Sergeant Ramos. She alleged that their actions constituted assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. Ramos and Palacios were ultimately dismissed from the case. Thus, the matter proceeded against Adams only. Escalante claimed that the officers initially stopped her because they believed she was using narcotics. However, she claimed that they then proceeded with the stop, even though she showed them she was only smoking a cigarette. Escalante alleged that as she sat in her car, Adams exited the police vehicle, approached her, and then put half of his body in the car window and searched her as she sat in her car. She also alleged that when she exited her vehicle, Adams searched her vehicle and found no evidence of drugs. Escalante claimed that when Adams found nothing in the car, he violently broke her arm without any reason. Thus, she claimed that Adams used excessive force against her even though she complied with all of the officers’ commands, the officers found no evidence of drugs on her person or in her car, she was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and she had no prior criminal record. Specifically, Escalante claimed that Adams attacked her by stomping on her foot, hitting her in the head and stomach, and putting her left arm and hand in a rear wrist lock by pulling her left wrist upward while holding her upper arm stable. She alleged that as a result of Adams performing the rear wrist lock, he broke her left arm’s humerus bone, snapping it in half. Adams claimed that he believed Escalante was using narcotics in a high-narcotics area of the Rampart Division and that his partner, Marquez, made first contact with Escalante. The officers’ admitted that Escalante told them that she was just smoking a cigarette, but they denied seeing a cigarette in her hand or smelling cigarette smoke. Adams also denied searching Escalante or her car. Instead, he claimed that when he attempted to question Escalante, she was belligerent, refused to give them her driver’s license and yelled obscenities at them. Adams claimed that as a result, he and his partner asked Escalante to exit her vehicle, which she eventually did. However, he alleged that because Escalante was yelling at them and fought with them, Marquez attempting to handcuff her, during which Escalante tried to physically assault him. In addition, Adams and Marquez claimed that Escalante’s arm was broken when she dropped her body while Adams had her left arm in a wrist lock., Escalante sustained a fractured humerus of her left, non-dominant arm. She also sustained an impingement of her left shoulder, and bruises and scrapes to both her knees. Escalante was subsequently taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where her left arm was placed in a cast. A few days later, she presented to Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center for follow up treatment, and had her cast and sling modified. Escalante wore casts and braces for an 11-month period in 2009. She then treated with physical therapy to help with arm, elbow and shoulder movement. In May 2010, she presented to her treating physician in orthopedic surgery for range-of-motion therapy and how to deal with numbness, and saw the physician until November 2010. Despite treatment, Escalante claimed that she is left with pain, weakness, numbness and range-of-motion issues in her upper arm. She also claimed that her shoulder impingement continues. Escalante alleged that as a result, she has pain and stiffness when lifting with her left arm, and has problems after sweeping, mopping and lifting her daughter. Thus, Escalante sought recovery of $14,600 in past medical bills, and $3,000 to $5,000 per year for her future medical bills due to upper arm pain, weakness and numbness.