LA County Sheriff's Dept. Sued Over 'Violent' Traffic Stop

LOS ANGELES -- Gabriela Koutantos, the head of local shelter for women victimized by domestic and sexual violence, is suing the LA Sheriff's Dept. over a 2022 traffic stop.

Lawyers from the civil rights firm Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai filed the suit on Koutantos' behalf on Oct. 12 against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) for allegedly using illegal and violent so-called “high risk” tactics against Koutantos during the traffic stop.

On Sept. 25, 2022, LA County Sheriff’s Deputies pulled over Gabriela Koutantos on her way to return a U-Haul van she had rented earlier that day to deliver donated furniture to the East Los Angeles Women’s Center, a shelter for women victimized by domestic and sexual violence.

"Even though Ms. Koutantos had committed no crime, never presented any threat, and complied with all police orders, she was surrounded by approximately a dozen sheriff’s deputies, held at gunpoint, forced to kneel in the middle of the street, handcuffed, and detained in an unventilated police car for approximately one hour in the sweltering heat," the lawyers said in a statement.

Koutantos’s mother, Barbara Kappos, had been accompanying her daughter to the U-Haul rental store in her own car and witnessed the incident.

After a lengthy detention, the Sheriff’s deputies eventually told Koutantos they had pulled her over believing the U-Haul rental was stolen.

"In fact, Ms. Koutantos and Ms. Kappos had rented the U-Haul van earlier that day to transport donations to the East Los Angeles Women’s Center, where Ms. Kappos serves as the Executive Director," according to the law firm. "The Center has existed for 47 years and provides a broad range of services to survivors of sexual and domestic violence."

“I was terrified. I feared for my life," Koutantos said in a statement. "I had no idea why the police had pulled me over. They had their guns pointed right at me. I thought they might kill me.”

Patch has reached out to the LASD for comment; this article will be updated if the Sheriff's Department issues a statement regarding Koutantos' lawsuit.