All charges have been dropped against a Chesapeake woman who was arrested for felony assault of a police officer. 70-year old Ruth Davenport couldn't help flashing a big smile after what she says was a big win inside the courtroom.
"I didn't think it was going to be that fast. It was awesome. Plus, you had an awesome attorney that's very important." Davenport told NewsChannel 3 today. "I'm very relieved. Now I can sleep."
Davenport was arrested in March when police were serving a warrant for her son.
According to court documents, police say Davenport was raising her voice and cursing at the officers. That's when court documents say the officers grabbed her arm to arrest her. Records also say she was resisting and ended up on the floor.
She told NewsChannel 3 that's not what happened.
"He grabbed me. The other police officer and him shoved me through the house through the door and they pinned me against the wall," she said. "I was screaming at the top of my lungs, 'You are hurting me!'"
NewsChannel 3 spoke to Davenport right after her charges were dropped. She says the Commonwealths Attorney actually approached her about dropping the charges. He declined to comment on the case today.
"You can't get to this point of the Commonwealth coming to you and saying, 'We are not going to pursue this any further.' You have to ask yourself what happened," added Davenport.
She believes a video recording by police of what happened that day was her saving grace. We requested a copy of the video, but police say they do not release videos to the public.
"Actually the internal affairs detective did tell us that I didn't do those things that I was accused of." said Davenport. "From being arrested and wrongfully grabbed at 5:40 in the morning to have vindication at this moment it's just a world of difference. I'm very happy."
Davenport says her case is far from over. She is going to work on getting her charges completely expunged and then she says she is going to take this case to civil court going against all parties involved, including the City of Chesapeake, Chesapeake Police and the officer in question.
Chesapeake Police tells NewsChannel 3 they do have an internal investigation open right now regarding the case. They say the officer in question is still patrolling the streets.
