Ogden woman sues trooper, alleges he 'violently' yanked her from car


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SALT LAKE CITY — An Ogden woman is suing a Utah Highway Patrol trooper, claiming he used excessive force when he "violently" pulled her out of her vehicle during a traffic stop earlier this year.

Kara Lynn Castaldo, 29, said she was returning home from work around 2 a.m. on July 18 when she was pulled over by UHP trooper Owen Horne and then unfairly harassed and even physically hurt when he tried to investigate her for driving under the influence of alcohol.

"Trooper Horne was basically waiting outside the bar where Castaldo worked as a bartender on 25th Street in Ogden with the intent of arresting individuals who were driving under the influence of alcohol," attorney Bob Sykes wrote in the complaint filed Wednesday in federal court.

Sykes said his client was pulled over for a faulty brake light at 2350 S. Adams Ave., an area he called "quite dark" and remote.

"After about one minute at the car door, without any reasonable suspicion of a crime and without any officer safety concerns, trooper Horne ordered Castaldo to exit her vehicle," the complaint states. "Horne provided no reason for this order. Castaldo was reluctant to exit her vehicle because she feared for her personal safety, and she feared trooper Horne in this late-night, dark location."

Castaldo then handed a valid driver's license and registration over to Horne, but the trooper repeated his request that she exit her pickup truck, according to Sykes.

"When Castaldo declined to exit, Horne opened the door, reached into the cab, and then violently, and without cause, forcibly removed her from the vehicle by pulling and yanking on her," the complaint states.

Sykes alleges Horne injured Castaldo's already-hurt shoulder, plus her arm, and said she suffered "serious bruising, sprains and lacerations."

Castaldo told reporters Wednesday that she has had surgery for a "shattered" ulna in her left forearm from the incident, and that she now suffers from acute pain in her left elbow and shoulder.

Castaldo was arrested — an arrest that Sykes said was illegal — and her car was impounded after the traffic stop. She was charged in Ogden City Justice Court the next day with interference with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor, and a motor vehicle lamp violation, an infraction.

The Ogden woman pleaded guilty to the lamp violation, and the interference charge was dismissed on Sept. 21. She paid a $40 fine for the infraction.

The lawsuit notes there is a big size difference between Castaldo and Horne, saying he weighs about 150 pounds more than her and is more than a foot taller than her.

Utah Highway Patrol Col. Danny Fuhr said Wednesday that Castaldo was obligated to cooperate with Horne, despite possible apprehensions about the trooper who pulled her over or the dark street she was on.

"This case would have been remedied very, very quickly had she complied with his lawful order to come out and do a field sobriety test," Fuhr said.

Horne pulled Castaldo out by both wrists, and "it became a tug of war" only after she resisted by holding onto her steering wheel, Fuhr said.

Castaldo's account of the traffic stop claims Horne never told her he intended to investigate her for DUI when she got out of her truck or that she could request a second officer at the scene. Her blood alcohol content at the time was about .02, roughly one-fourth the legal limit of .08 in Utah, Sykes indicated Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Sykes said he believed his client's blood alcohol content at the time was virtually zero. Castaldo was also obeying all traffic laws when she was pulled over, according to the complaint in court.

Sykes claims Horne used excessive force and "illegally expand(ed) the traffic stop" without giving Castaldo a reason for his suspicion because he was determined to make a DUI arrest.

Fuhr told reporters that Horne smelled alcohol and requiring Castaldo to get out of the truck was "a legal request." Fuhr added Castaldo refused three times to comply with Horne's orders — first to roll down the window down all the way, then to open the car door, and finally to exit the truck and walk to the back of it.

"If (in) every single one of our stops now, if every single individual rolls up the window and refuses to obey our orders, are we going to just continue to let people down the road, or are we going to take some type of action?" Fuhr said.

Fuhr said Castaldo's window was only rolled down about a quarter of an inch and called it a rare and suspicious response during a traffic stop.

Castaldo had previously been charged with misdemeanor DUI and failure to signal in a separate case in January. She pleaded not guilty, and both charges were dismissed in May. She said Wednesday that the incident, in which she claims charges were dropped because she was under the legal drinking limit, influenced her to stay in her vehicle this time around.

"It seemed as though I incriminated myself by complying and getting out of the vehicle … so I just didn't want to allow that whole investigation and that scenario to happen again," she said.

Castaldo hesitated to respond to what seemed like an "unreasonable request" to get out of the truck, she said, because she wasn't clear about why he pulled her over at all.

Fuhr said the Utah Highway Patrol stands by Horne's actions and doesn't believe he used excessive force, declaring at one point, "we're not throwing Owen Horne under the bus." Still, the colonel said, Horne could have communicated more clearly with Castaldo about the reasons for his orders.

"Could he have articulated better? Absolutely. … Do I wish he would have done that? Absolutely. Would it have looked great for the camera? Absolutely," Fuhr said. "It would have been another step to remedy this situation. And that was the counsel we gave to trooper Horne — you need to do that."

Castaldo is seeking $100,000 in compensatory damages, in addition to punitive damages, special damages that would include the cost of medical bills, and attorney fees, among other restitution.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said the agency received a letter from Sykes on Oct. 6 that threatened a lawsuit and made an initial offer for an out-of-court settlement for $100,000.

Contributing: Alex Cabrero

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