Woman Alleges Police Put Her In Chokehold After She Complained About Panda Express Meal
A Pennsylvania woman is accusing a police officer of unnecessarily using his Taser and putting her in a chokehold, after she was arrested while attempting to return the wrong food order from Panda Express.
Diana Broadnax, a Black woman, alleged in a lawsuit filed on Monday that her arrest was not only wrong but racially motivated.
According to the suit, after being taken to jail, she had an anxiety attack, and her complaints about it being difficult to breathe were met with profanities and excessive force.
"[Officer Steven Pascarella stated] that if she could complain about an inability to breathe, she must, in fact, be able to breathe," the lawsuit said. "Before she was transported to the hospital defendant Pascarella entered her cell, and placed her in a chokehold to remove her from the cell floor."
Broadnax's arrest stemmed from an altercation at Panda Express earlier in the day. She argued the Panda Express manager, who the lawsuit identified as Caucasian, treated her differently than a white patron and fueled her arrest by providing false information to the police department.
When Broadnax attempted to exchange her wrong order for the right one, she claimed the manager yelled at her, ordered her to leave, and threatened to call the police. During a call with the Monroeville Police Department, the lawsuit alleged the manager said she was disorderly and intoxicated.
Broadnax's attorney pushed back on that narrative, writing in the court filing that she had not consumed any alcohol and the only thing she did before going to Panda Express was to attend church services because it was Sunday.
When Pascarella arrived, he allegedly began "shouting profanities at her," placed a Taser against her chest, and threatened to tase her. After being "forcibly handcuffed and arrested," Broadnax was taken to the jail, where she remained for about an hour before being transported to the local hospital to be treated and released.
Broadnax was initially charged with public intoxication, but the charges were dismissed.
Her lawsuit accused Pascarella and another officer, who was only identified as John Doe, of using excessive force, making a false arrest, and malicious prosecution. It also accused the Panda Express manager of making false accusations leading to her arrest and for violating her equal right to enforce her contractual right to receive the correct food order.
While the manager called the police on Broadnax, the lawsuit criticized the manager for not reporting a "white male patron who was screaming at the plaintiff" because she complained about receiving the wrong food order.
Panda Restaurant Group told Newsweek they take Broadnax's claims "very seriously" and "do not tolerate any form of racism at Panda Express." The company added that it is looking into the situation to ensure store protocols and the code of conduct and ethics were followed.
Newsweek reached out to the Monroeville Police Department for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
