Ex-Hollywood officers accused of falsifying crash report now face federal lawsuit Palm Beach Post
A woman arrested for DUI after a Hollywood police officer rear-ended her and allegedly doctored a police report to place the blame on her is suing the officer, the city of Hollywood and four other Police Department employees present at the 2009 crash site.
Alexandra Torrens-Vilas' lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, says the parties falsified reports and conspired to fabricate evidence, leading to her false arrest and the violation of her constitutional rights. She is seeking compensatory damages, attorneys fees and further relief to be determined by a jury.
All five Hollywood Police Department employees named in her suit were fired in January: Officer Joel Francisco, Officer Dewey Pressley, Sgt. Andrew Diaz, Community Service Officer Karim Thomas and crime-scene technician Andrea Tomassi.
The incident involves a February 2009 crash in which Officer Francisco rear-ended Torrens-Vilas, 24, while on duty in his patrol car.