Ocean City Reaches $150,000 Settlement With Doctor's Wife Over Confrontation With Cop

Ocean City reached a settlement with Monica Raab over a lawsuit she filed alleging she was assaulted by a police officer without cause, the Ocean City Gazette reports.

Raab, the wife of local physician Gary Raab, will receive $150,000 in a settlement that came about because Raab became “worn down” by the process, her attorney told the Gazette.

The process was a long one and would’ve gone on much longer if it had gone to trial, her attorney said. There were also elements of the case that were misrepresented in the media, her attorney said in the report.

There still remains the question of who will handle the attorney’s fees for Raab’s attorney. She is asking the court to have the City pay $230,000 in fees, according to the report.

The suit, settled on Dec. 31, was first filed in November of 2011, relating to an incident that took place earlier in the year.

Raab claimed Ocean City Police Officer Jesse Scott Ruch handcuffed her for no reason and caused permanent bodily harm when he repeatedly pulled and twisted Raab’s handcuffed arm while she was lying on the ground. This caused her head to hit the ground over and over again, she claimed.

Ruch said she was uncooperative and hysterical, to the point where he thought the incident may end with a trip to the Cape Regional Medical Center for a psychological evaluation.

The incident began when Ruch was dispatched to the Raab’s West Atlantic Boulevard home to tow her brother-in-law’s trailer.

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