Judge Upholds $11.5M Award To Stroke Victim Who Was Arrested By State Police

NEW JERSEY — A judge recently upheld a $11.5 million verdict against a state trooper who arrested a Jersey City woman while she was having a stroke, say published reports.

According to a lawsuit filed in 2019, Cheryl Rhines of Jersey City suffered a stroke while driving to work at BASF in Florham Park one morning in October 2017. Rhines, 48 years old at the time, pulled over on a Newark highway.

When a state trooper arrived, the officer believed Rhines was drunk and arrested her. By the time Rhines got medical attention, "the additional approximate 2 ½ hour delay caused by defendants’ conduct resulted in the death of significant brain function and permanent lifelong disability," the lawsuit says.

Rhines' mother won a $11.5 million verdict on behalf of her daughter in February 2025, reports say. The state police appealed.

On Friday, state Superior Court Judge Thomas Vena decided there was enough evidence to support the jury's verdict, and "rejected all of the state’s arguments for reconsideration, including that jurors wrongly assessed damages," according to a story in New Jersey Monitor.

Rhines now lives with her mother in Tennessee and needs permanent care, according to reports. Read more in Monitor here.