2015/01/27

CLEVELAND — A woman was shocked by the behavior of police when she was arrested and thrown in a jail cell after “not shutting up.”

Mariah Crenshaw’s pregnant daughter was coming home to drop off a child.

According to the lawsuit, she parked on the opposite side of the street so she didn’t have to walk far, which prompted police in the area to pull up and “investigate” her car while she was inside.

When Maria saw the police from her window, she ran outside and told the officers that her pregnant daughter was just making a quick stop and would be moving the vehicle soon.

But that’s when they accused her of “interfering with an investigation” and one of the officers, Officer Gerbec, told her to go back inside and “shutup” or be arrested.

Maria was surprised by how rudely the cops treated her, so when she went back inside, she called the police station to complain about their aggressiveness.

The police instructed her that she would have to come to the station and fill out a complaint.

That’s when she and her husband left the house to go report Officer Gerbec.

But when Officer Gerbec noticed them leaving, he grabbed Maria away and threw her inside a patrol car, according to reports.

He then became even more verbally abusive toward Mariah and his speech appeared to have racist connations.

“You people,” said Officer Gerbec, “will learn that I am the authority!”

“And when I tell you to do something, you need to do it,” he said.

Mariah says Officer Gerbec did not read her her rights and simply had her locked away in jail for “aggravated disorderly conduct” and “interfering with official police business.”

Mariah says she experienced further abuse once she was locked up, as officers began laughing at her while she was crying.

Cleveleand.com reports that:

She spent 24 hours in jail in inhumane conditions, according to her suit, with water leaking from the walls, no heat or blankets.

“Plaintiff did have the opportunity to visit the County Kennels and found that facility in far more sanitary condition than the First District jail,” the suit states.

The arresting officers’ police report and court filings contend that Crenshaw got what she deserved. She was “yelling and screaming” and “waving her arms in the officer’s face” while trying to interfere with a traffic investigation, Gerbec claimed.

Watch the video below for more details: