Woman Charged With Drunk Driving Can Sue Belmar Cops After She Fell Off Chair At Police Headquarters

A woman who chugged down four drinks with double shots of liquor in less than an hour on April 22, 2010 will be allowed to sue two Belmar police officers who had charged her with drunk driving, according to app.com.

Two state appellate judges recently ruled that Linda Leone could proceed with a lawsuit against Patrolman Michael R. Allen and Sgt. Sean R. Pringle. Leone claims that the officers failed to protect her while in custody when she repeatedly fell off a metal chair and broke her hip while she was waiting to take a sobriety test.

Leone admitted had the drinks between 7 a.m. and 7:50 a.m. at a nearby bar on that morning. She then got into her car and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving,

A Monmouth County Superior Court judge previously threw out Leone’s lawsuit, and ruled that the police officers were immune from liability under provisions of the state’s Tort Claims Act.

The officers eventually placed Leone on the floor after she fell off the chair several times.

Belmar Mayor Matthew Doherty called the suit ”completely ridiculous and a waste of taxpayers’ money.

“If she can sue over this, where is the line?,“ he said. “ People have to take responsibility for their own actions.”

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