Pregnant woman who was hogtied by traffic cops after they pulled her over for talking on her cell phone wins $250,000 payout

Victim says she'll forever fear police, meanwhile the arresting officers remain on the force



The pregnant Los Angeles woman who was brutally hogtied by California Highway Patrolmen in August 2011 after being pulled over for chatting on her cell phone while driving has finally received retribution in the form of a $250,000 settlement.



According to the LA Times, Tamara Gaglione, 30, was hauled away and charged with misdemeanor evading and resisting arrest and driving on a suspended license.

Those charges were dropped, however, once Gaglione's terrible treatment was revealed in footage from the cruiser's video camera.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SHOCKING VIDEO



Busted: Tamara Gaglione's was pulled over in her minivan by California Highway Patrolmen in 2011 for using a cell phone while driving

For the additional offense of driving while using a cell phone, Gaglione plead no contest.

The footage captured from the police cruiser shows Gaglione's minivan weaving through Los Angeles traffic and eventually pulling to a stop on the shoulder of the congested 101 Freeway.

Gaglione is seen exiting her car and standing motionless, staring dazedly at the the camera.

'I'd never seen a gun for real before,' Gaglione reportedly said later. 'I just froze. I was scared they'd shoot me.'

Shocked: Gaglione said she was merely confused, but officers drew their guns nonetheless

According to the patrolmen who pulled her over, Officers Daniel Hernandez and Roberto Martinez, Gaglione then raised her arm in an aggressive manner and refused to follow their orders.

Brutalized: Though she claims she never behaved aggressively, footage shows Gaglione thrown brutally to the ground

It is unclear in the grainy video exactly how aggressive, if at all, Gaglione was toward the cops. What is clear, though, is that Hernandez and Martinez drew their weapons on the unarmed Gaglione as they approached her and forced her onto the ground.

Hernandez later claimed Gaglione did not tell them of her pregnancy until after she was on the ground, but Gaglione said she told the officers as they approached her.



Once she was face-down, Hernandez kneed Gaglione in the back, he said, to allow for Martinez to more easily handcuff her.

Maximum Force: Officers Daniel Hernandez and Roberto Martinez claim Gaglione was kneed in order to easily handcuff her

The scene became increasingly absurd as two more patrolmen came to came to the assistance of Hernandez and Martinez.

Footage then shows yet another two officers showing up to the scene, bringing the total number of police surrounding the pregnant, cuffed, and face-down woman to six.

Lots of backup: Six officers total, including Hernandez and Martinez, eventually surrounded the pregnant Gaglione

Hogtied, Gaglione was subsequently taken away in a patrol car.



Gaglione filed suit against the department and the officers involved, but the video evidence that eventually won Gaglione $250,000 this past November was not immediately forthcoming. Gaglione's attorney Howard Price claimed that Hernandez failed to check a box on the arrest report stating a video camera had, in fact, recorded the incident.



But the footage was eventually uncovered and the California Highway Police settled the case out of court and the officers were never required to testify, nor was the video ever submitted as evidence. The CHP has not commented on the case and the two arresting officers remain with the force.



Meanwhile, the now far richer Gaglione has left Los Angeles with her now 9-month-old son and, she says, she'll be forever terrified by the police.