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Valencia Woman Files Lawsuit Against City Of Carlsbad, Police Department

A Valencia woman has filed a lawsuit against the city of Carlsbad, alleging that officers with the Carlsbad Police Department brutally beat her in front of her children.


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Cindy Hahn filed a lawsuit against the city of Carlsbad and the CPD officers involved in an incident that occurred on July 31, 2013, according to the lawsuit.

The incident started when Hahn asked officer Kenyatte Valentine why he was standing in front of a vehicle and “doing nothing” while the vehicle’s alarm sounded, according to the complaint. Valentine allegedly responded, “Mind your own f****** business.”

Hahn said she then complained of the officer’s treatment towards her to a non-emergency police hotline, as she felt she was being intimidated and harassed by Valentine.

Hahn then left the scene of the incident and was followed by Valentine who immediately pulled her over for not wearing a seatbelt, according to the complaint. Within minutes, Hahn found herself being “attacked” by Valentine, while her children watched from the backseat of Hahn’s vehicle.

Hahn was never cited for not wearing a seatbelt, according to the lawsuit.

Related Story: Palmdale Family Files Lawsuit Against Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District For Alleged Bullying

In August of 2013 a lawsuit was filed against Hahn for battery on a peace officer with injury and resisting arrest, according to the court documents in the lawsuit against Hahn. Two years later, the San Diego District Attorney’s Office dropped the felony charges against Hahn because of cell phone video taken during the incident.

Here is the video:

The city of Carlsbad, the Carlsbad Police Department, and the Carlsbad City Attorney’s office released this statement in regards to the incident and subsequent lawsuit:

“The City of Carlsbad looks forward to bringing this lawsuit before the proper judicial authorities as soon as possible. We are prepared to provide a complete and detailed account of the facts of this incident in a courtroom, not in the media.”

Ben Meiselas, one of the attorney’s representing Hahn, released this statement:

“The Carlsbad Police Department not only beat and brutalized Ms. Hahn in front of her children causing permanent injuries, they then prepared false police reports causing Ms. Hahn to be criminally prosecuted for felony criminal charges which were completely dismissed when the District Attorney saw the video.  Now, rather than apologize and hold the police officers accountable, the Carlsbad Police Department has doubled down, at the expense of taxpayers (even after watching the video), by hiring a private law firm which is claiming the conduct of the police officers was normal and business as usual for Carlsbad Police.  This is a police department that needs a complete institutional shakeup so that this tragedy never happens again.”

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Valencia Woman Files Lawsuit Against City Of Carlsbad, Police Department

11 comments

  1. Sounds to me like she was the one doing the harassment…if the officer smashed the vehicle’s window to gain access to the alarm wiring she probably would have complained that he was destroying property. While he should have just ignored her, she should have minded her business. But of course the ones who get “beaten” by the police are always the cooperative calm ones, right? More to the story I’m sure…

  2. As with most cell phone videos we see in the media, this video only shows the end of the situation. In the video the woman is without a doubt resisting arrest and we shouldn’t rush to judgment of the officers without the facts. The Carlsbad PD is standing behind their officers for a reason and its probably not in an attempt to cover something up, its probably because they were right.

    • Chris at least you use “probably” in part of your statement. That the police officer went after her after she called him out definitely shows his state of mind prior to him pulling her over. What the video does show is the officer astraddle her holding one arm with no attempt to take the other arm and put her in cuffs. How is that resisting arrest? When the other officer arrives she holds up her arm calling for help and instead the other officer punches her in the face. At which point, as anybody would, she tries to get away from the blows. If two large officers can’t restrain a woman already on the ground without resorting to that level of violence then they should be fired forthwith.

      It’s already established via the police report vs. the video that they’ve lied. Why would any decent citizen want lying misogynists on any police force?

  3. Definitely hard to watch but the truth is that we haven’t been given all the facts yet.

  4. It appears that Ms. Hahn had an “attitude” and the police needed to give her an attitude adjustment.

  5. so if i am attacked verbally or physically by another civilian with a rude disposition, i expect myself to account for it by realizing this other person is going through a distressing period I know that person thinks they are acting as they need to and in a justified manner, ( every time i am a total creep i felt i was reacting appropriately to my circumstances), anyway i expect myself to not take the attack personally because even if the transgression is aimed at me, i know the tantrum flung my direction, is not aware who i am, for instance if a child is over tired and screaming and kicking me i don’t haul off and get physical, i protect myself and think of a plan that includes refreshments and some respite from excitement. point of this is law officers are carrying sidearms and they draw these weapons at the drop of a hat, cops today commonly demand people get on the ground and will cuff someone for their own protection. i account for this as a symptom of disdain and seperation police view the public with instead of protecting the peace and serving the distressed more likely police contact is unpleasant and even law abiding civilians are happy when a police encounter is over, though some residual sense of violation lingers all to often. i cannot accept it is ever correct procedure for the police to get rough with any body because the person is disrespectful. when one is armed a long suffering attitude is needed to avoid traumatic experiences, most cops are self righteous and need to grow up and realize mostly no body needs to get hurt, remember to respect civilians in the manner you respect your supervisors.

  6. It’s apparent by watching the video of the bystanders that the not 1 but 2 police officers acted violently. The woman was begging for him to get off her. Then the second police office starts immediately hitting her whne he arrives. People there were trying to come to her rescue. Maybe the video only shows the end but how about getting all the witnesses to this crime together and asking them what happened.

  7. SAVAGE ANIMALS !!!

  8. Legalized Criminals, that’s all they are… Sick!

  9. I wonder if I should way in here. July 5th of last year I was tazered twice, once in the back while on the ground after the Carlsbad officer slapped my pertinent insurance paperwork from my hands. I was tazered while trying to retrieve my grandmother’s wedding band from the ground after the officer ripped my necklace from my neck; there was a small Claddagh cross on it along with the simple gold band. The cross was given to me by my mother just before I left for basic training, the ring I received after my grandmother passed years later. I have still not received my personal items. The officer is responsible for stealing them while assisting an attorney remove my credibility from a lawsuit. Mandelbalatt, the attorney defending a corporation I had a suit filed against arranged for the officers to falsely charge me in any way possible, in conjunction with the Downing family and the Best Western Novasik family. Luckily, my personal family friends and the Brazilian “concierge” group found me well respectable. I had the electronics corporation cornered because I refused to backdate medical documentation on medical device circuit boards I tested for said corporation.

    Unfortunately, a remedial group of officers took private incentive and are now dancing the line for crossing it. I was booked for Felony assault and battery on an officer, and locked into upper level in Vista. Then I was left up there, even though my charges were dropped to resisting arrest and obstruction; because there were too many witnesses for the officer to pursue the original intended charges. Then they couldn’t make those charges stick without the D.A. Claiming I had a “violent arrest history in Florida” and that I “slugged the officer.” Though in reality, I’ve never been arrested in Florida, and I didn’t slug the officer. If I had made any aggressive moves towards the officer, I assume they would have pursued attempted murder charges, or he would have just tried to shoot me and wash it away with false reports later. In the end, the officer stole my priceless possessions, I took only one misdemeanor just so I could get out of the crooked California system, and they won’t be able to break my probation to help themselves because I’m also associated with a non-involved Carlsbad police officer as a fellow church member.

    All in all, worst case scenario, the people claiming the woman here is at fault probably have no clue of how corrupt some groups in this particular precinct is. Worst case scenario, the D.A.’s here are going to drown in their own filth, best case scenario, there’s a few officers who might be taking some sand rides through Mexico soon.

  10. It appears that a few people who responded must be complete and utter morons to think this kind of police work is acceptable. I invite you people to come workout with me once and believe that it was just a workout when we are finished.
    Fire those pigs…….

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About Enzo Marino

Enzo became a staff writer at KHTS AM-1220 in June 2015. He is working towards his Associates Degree in New Media Journalism at College of the Canyons where he is currently involved with Cougar News, the on-campus student and community news outlet. Enzo’s passion for news started when he was an intern at KNBC-4 in Burbank