Woman sues Orange deputies who smashed her car window

The Orange County deputies who smashed a woman’s car window during a traffic stop near a George Floyd protest this summer, sparking community outrage, are facing an excessive force lawsuit from the driver.

Khadija Bezzaz, 22, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Deputies Christopher Moore and Michael Fuller, claiming the officers unlawfully detained her, used excessive force in their encounter and battered her, violating her constitutional rights.

“Moore’s use of force on [Bezzaz] was excessive, without warning and not needed to execute a traffic stop,” the lawsuit said. The deputies “had no legal right to detain, handcuff (seize) or arrest [Bezzaz].”

Bezzaz was initially stopped because Moore and Fuller said they saw her vehicle stopped in the right lane of Curry Ford Road near a small rally along the roadway, days after George Floyd’s video-recorded death under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee sparked protests across the nation.

When Moore approached Bezzaz, he immediately told her to get out of the vehicle and threatened her with arrest if she didn’t comply, according to body-worn camera video of the incident.

After a quick back-and-forth, in which Bezzaz asked why she had to get out of her car and Moore explained she was being detained for a traffic violation, Moore attempted to reach through the drivers-side window, which Bezzaz appeared to begin to roll up.

That’ s when he pulled out his baton and hit her driver’s side window, shattering the glass before pulling her from the vehicle and handcuffing her against another deputy’ s vehicle—all within seconds of when he first approached her.

Her lip was cut from the glass.

Moore initially sought charges against Bezzaz for battery on a law enforcement officer — a felony — as well as misdemeanor resisting an officer without violence, but she was never arrested in the incident. The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office soon after declined to prosecute the case.

The lawsuit disputes that Bezzaz tried to roll up the window on the deputy’s hand, and also rejects the allegation from deputies that Bezzaz refused to exit her vehicle.

The complaint alleges deputies “falsely arrested” Bezzaz for battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer without violence, saying they detained her “without probable cause,” violating her constitutional rights protecting her from illegal search and seizure and guaranteeing equal protection under the law.

Bezzaz was “intentionally targeted by Moore which led to her being harassed and battered,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit is against Moore and Fuller, in their individual capacity. OCSO on Wednesday would not say whether the agency would represent the deputies in the case, declining to comment because of the potential litigation.

Bezzaz’s attorney, Brad Laurent, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After a cell phone video of the incident sparked public furor, Orange Sheriff John Mina called the incident “very troubling,” but an internal agency review completed months later found the officers acted appropriately and “were within their lawful purview to stop [Bezzaz] for several traffic violations, detain her and subsequently order her out of the vehicle.”

The OCSO review said Bezzaz “refused to comply with Deputy Moore’s lawful order for her to exit her vehicle.”

The lawsuit alleges Fuller did nothing to stop Moore from using excessive force in the encounter.

“Fuller had a reasonable opportunity to intervene and instead of intervening he assisted and encourage[d] Moore to carry out his use of excessive force on [Bezzaz],” the complaint said.

The lawsuit requests damages as well as attorney fees in the case, but does not indicate a specific amount. It alleges Bezzaz “suffered cuts to her face and body as a result of Moore breaking [her] car window in her face,” causing her to start “bleeding profusely.”

The complaint also says Bezzaz “suffered and will continue to suffer in the future, physical inconvenience, physical scarring, medical expenses, emotional damage, damage to her reputation, and expenses incurred as a result of unlawful detainment.”

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge John Antoon II in the Middle District of Florida.