A Hollister resident who was arrested in December in the San Benito County Board of Supervisors chambers filed a lawsuit July 7 against former Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz and sheriff’s deputies R. Brown and E. Figueroa for false arrest.
In her lawsuit, Courtney Evans claims she was “brutalized,” “sexually assaulted,” “suffered public humiliation and torture,” and now suffers from anxiety, loss of sleep, agoraphobia, and post traumatic stress disorder.
According to her statement in the lawsuit, Evans said she refused to wear a mask or face shield when asked to do so by someone in the chambers soon after arriving at the Dec. 15 Board of Supervisors meeting.
Evans faces charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. She pleaded not guilty through her attorney Tracy Henderson on Aug. 17. Her jury trial is set for Sept. 27 at 8:30 a.m.
Her account of the incident says that after the board took a five-minute break, initiated by County Administrative Officer Ray Espinosa, she was approached by “two heavily armed and masked assailants” and told to get up.
After asking for an explanation and refusing to leave the chambers, she said that as she attempted to make a phone call, one of the deputies grabbed her arms and “twisted” them behind her back, hurting her, bent her over a row of chairs and took her outside against her will.
The lawsuit states she was offered two choices by now-Sheriff Eric Taylor: to either sign a citation stating she would appear in court or to go to jail.
“The plaintiff refused to sign anything and again demanded to consult with her attorney,” the lawsuit states. She was then transported to the jail for processing and later released.
De La Cruz did not respond to BenitoLink’s request for comment. San Benito County County Public Information Officer David Westrick said the county does not comment on active cases.
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