Woman sues Opa-locka police over videotaped arrest in 2022 – NBC 6 South Florida

A woman is suing Opa-locka police over an allegedly brutal 2022 arrest that was caught on video.

Yolanda Lopez claims that police officers threw her to the ground, then tasered and beat her several times – all because she was handing out leaflets.

In her lawsuit, Lopez claims she should never have been arrested and her civil rights were violated.

In the video, Lopez can be heard screaming before the sound of a taser is heard. This happened twice.

Now Lopez is suing the city of Opa-locka and the police in federal court over the arrest.

“She is very emotional about it. She wakes up at night with nightmares, screaming and thinking she is in prison. She has been seeing a psychologist. And now she is also seeing a psychiatrist,” said Lopez’s husband.

Lopez claims she was wrongfully arrested and thrown to the ground, moments before she was seen standing on the sidewalk with papers in her hand.

Lopez said she was handing out flyers for her business, which had just closed. The day before, the decades-old flea market in Opa-locka-Hialeah where Lopez ran her business had closed its doors for good.

“It is truly sad and tragic that in this day and age an innocent woman, a mother of two children, a wife and business owner, can be thrown to the ground, stunned, beaten and wrongfully arrested just for standing in the street trying to feed her family,” said Michael Pizzi, Lopez’s attorney.

Pizzi also said that Lopez was exercising her right to free speech while handing out leaflets. He added that while all this was happening, Lopez was already on the phone with 911.

She said she called emergency services because she was being harassed.

Her husband said they wanted the officer held accountable.

“This shouldn’t happen in the United States. We are immigrants,” he said. “We both come from Cuba. And we fled from a communist and dictatorial country.”

The lawsuit seeks millions of dollars in damages. NBC6 reached out to Opa-locka police for comment but has not received a response.