Lawsuit against Guam Police alleges assault

by Mindy Aguon

Guam - The legal challenges keep piling for the Guam Police Department, as another lawsuit alleging violations of civil rights has been filed with the U.S. District Court of Guam. Gillian Mary Hardman is suing the Government of Guam - specifically GPD and officers Benny T. Babauta, Carlo E. Reyes, Kenneth J.C. Balajadia, Joseph B. Tenorio and others.

According to the verified complaint for damages and demand for trial by jury, on May 25, 2008 police received a harassment complaint against Hardman.  Between midnight and 1:30 in the morning the following day, police went to her home in Tumon.  The plaintiff alleges that police forcibly broke open the door to her home without permission to enter and then confronted her while she was in her bedroom. Hardman claims she tried to call her attorney for assistance after she asked police for a search warrant. 

Additionally, she alleges that police threw her to the ground outside her home onto the cement driveway, which she claims caused her to suffer a broken bone in her leg. The complaint also states that she pleaded for medical assistance but was taken to the Hagatna Precinct instead of the hospital.

Her attorney, Curtis Van De Veld, cites violations of his client's civil rights - that the officers invaded her privacy, assaulted her, trespassed on her property, made a false arrest, and falsely imprisoned her.  Hardman is seeking full and complete compensatory damages to be proven at trial, as well as the cost of the lawsuit and attorney's fees and legal expenses.