PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A woman who was dragged out of her car and beaten by police in West Philadelphia last fall has settled with the city for $2 million, but another lawsuit is underway.
Rickia Young was in her car with her 2-year-old son and 16-year-old nephew, who she had just picked up, when officers started swarming her car, breaking the windows with batons.
The moment was captured on cellphone video. It took place on Oct. 27, 2020, in the wake of protests and looting sparked by the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. in West Philly. Young got turned around amid several blocked-off roads and wound up in the middle of a large crowd.
She had to receive medical treatment for her injuries.
“I will never forget what those officers did to us,” Young said.
Two officers have been fired and 14 others are on restrictive duty as the investigation continues. Young’s lawyers want the officers to be criminally charged.
“There is no doubt that they assaulted Ms. Young, her son and the teenager who was a passenger,” said attorney Kevin Mincey.
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Young was arrested but quickly released, though she was separated from her toddler for hours. Mincey said the child remains traumatized.
“He’s already made audible the fear of police,” he said. “He is afraid of the dark, loud noises, like the banging on the windows, smashing on the glass. He is more easily startled now.”
While Young has settled with the city for $2 million, her lawyers have filed another lawsuit against the national Fraternal Order of Police for tweeting a picture of Young’s son that night, who they falsely claimed was wandering around barefoot until he was rescued by police.
Mincey said the tweet references the FOP’s support for then-President Donald Trump so close to the election.
“There’s no ambiguity as to their intent, as to why they posted it, when they posted it,” said Mincey. “They saw it as an opportunity. They thought the election was close and they thought this would help them get over the end.”
They have also called on the district attorney to charge the officers with aggravated assault and related offenses.
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In a statement, Mayor Jim Kenney called the officers’ actions “appalling” and “egregious.”
“This terrible incident, which should have never happened to anyone, only further strained the relationship between the Police Department and our communities,” Kenney said. “The officers’ inexcusable actions that evening prompted an immediate and thorough investigation of the incident and for personnel to be disciplined and held accountable for their egregious conduct. I hope that the settlement and investigations into the officers’ actions bring some measure of closure to Ms. Young and her family.”