Lawsuit: Police Beating of Pregnant Woman in Georgia Led to Miscarriage

A woman is suing the city of Albany, Georgia, after she was beaten in a police station which, she says, caused her to lose the child she was carrying.

Kenya Harris was called to the Albany Police Department in May 2011 when her son was arrested. After waiting for five hours, she says, she told Officer Ryan Jenkins she had to return home to look after her other children. According to the complaint, Jenkins responded with hostility.

"Defendant Officer Jenkins stated that he did not appreciate the tone in which she was communicating with him, and further stated that if she continued he would take her head and 'put it to the floor,'" the complaint states.

Harris says that she then tried to explain her situation again but Jenkins then grabbed the 120-pound woman “by the neck and slammed her to the ground.”

“Plaintiff momentarily blacked out and came to with defendant Officer Jenkins sitting on her back, and with his knee on her arm. Plaintiff was pregnant at the time," the complaint states. "Defendant Officer Jenkins put handcuffs on plaintiff and slammed her against the wall. Plaintiff was placed into an interrogation room after she was beaten and handcuffed."

After being released the next day, Harris went to Phoebe Convenient Care for medical treatment and was told she had miscarried as a result of the injuries. The complaint goes on to say — in addition to the miscarriage — she suffered a knee contusion, neck spasms, muscle pain and bruising from the incident and that she asked for medical attention but was denied.

Harris is seeking $50,000 plus punitive damages.