By Rena Abdusalam
WOODLAND, CA – Judge Peter M. Williams denied a motion to suppress evidence in the case of a 64-year-old woman who was held down by as many as five officers and injured while they attempted to get a blood sample after a misdemeanor driving under the influence arrest earlier this year.
Deputy Public Defender Sarah Gayle MacDonald said the blood draw by officers wasn’t reasonable by West Sacramento police, which she said resulted in bruises and other injuries to her client, who won’t be named by The Vanguard because she is facing non-felony, misdemeanor DUI and related charges.
“Your honor, the video is hard to watch. Unfortunately, we’re in a position where this is a forced blood draw of a 64-year-old woman, where she was held down by multiple officers at a police station, not a hospital. It was not done in a way where it was reasonable. It was not done in a way that was acceptable,” argued PD MacDonald.
Deputy District Attorney Ching Chuang Ko called Robert Silva, a West Sacramento police officer, to the stand to provide testimony about the blood draw that occurred on Feb. 12 after a DUI stop.
After being dispatched to where the accused was detained for her DUI, Silva said he took her to the police station, where he said she was uncooperative and resistant to get her blood drawn.
Even with a warrant issued, Officer Silva said that the accused was still unwilling to get her blood drawn, which he claimed made it very difficult for the paramedics and officers.
DDA Ko then played the officer’s body cam footage that recorded the accused’s blood draw. In the recording, the accused can be heard saying “Get off my leg,” “I’m not a criminal” and “Is it because I’m Black?”
During the video, the accused started to cry in court. She began to rock back and forth, shake her head, and was even once comforted by PD MacDonald.
PD MacDonald asked Officer Silva during cross-examination how many officers were holding her down when the first attempt was happening, to which he replied, “About three or four.” When asked the same question for the second attempt, the officer said about four or five. 
PD MacDonald asked if the police officers knew about the accused’s sciatica. Officer Silva was not informed about it, but admitted knowing her leg was in pain.
After confirming again that the blood draw occurred at the police station, Officer Silva said it was about three or four miles to the nearest hospital.
“Someone being held down by multiple officers, who might be scared and confused, would they possibly be tense?” asked PD MacDonald. Officer Silva replied with yes.
After being asked by Judge Williams if he needed anything since it seemed like he was in physical discomfort, the husband of the accused gave his testimony.
When shown pictures of bruises, the accused’s husband confirmed the photos looked like the bruises the accused had on her arms, legs and wrists that he noticed after the blood draw, adding that she was aged 64 and suffered from sciatic nerve pain.
The PD argued her client “was not giving the force back that required that many officers to hold her down and draw her blood twice.”
“At this point, we need to be expecting more of our officers. We need to be expecting better. This is not a reasonable or humane manner of drawing blood from somebody who is under arrest for a misdemeanor,” said PD MacDonald.
However, Judge Williams claimed that pain was not the primary reason for the accused’s uncooperativeness. “I guess, in my mind, I’m not sure what options were left for the officers,” responded Judge Williams.
Trial-setting dates will be discussed Sept. 2. 
