Black mom and two daughters awarded $8.25m after car theft arrest

Black mom and her two teenage daughters are awarded $8.25 MILLION after white Bay Area deputies cuffed and detained them for an hour on suspicion of being car thieves

• Aasylei Loggervale was traveling in Sept 2019 from her Las Vegas home to California’s Berkeley City College with her daughters, for one to sit a math test
• The trio stopped at a Starbucks in Castro Valley and deputies ordered Aasylei, daughters Aaottae, 17, and Aasyeli Hardege-Loggervale, 19, out of their car
• On March 1 a jury awarded the Loggervale family $8.25 million in damages, having concluded that the trio’s rights were violated

A black Las Vegas family have been awarded $8.25 million in damages after they were hauled out of their car at a Starbucks in the Bay Area by two white deputies, who were searching for local car thieves.

The three women argued they were singled out for their race, and were awarded the significant sum thanks to California’s Bane Act, which allows any damages awarded to be tripled if lawyers can prove that a person’s civil rights have been violated.

Aasylei Loggervale was traveling with her daughters Aaottae, then 17, and 19-year-old Aasylei Hardege-Loggervale in September 2019 when they stopped at the Castro Valley Starbucks.

The trio were en route to Berkeley City College, where one of the teenagers was due to sit a math test. While stopped for coffee and a rest, the family was confronted by two Alameda County deputies and held for an hour on suspicion of car theft.   

The two deputies, Steven Holland and Monica Pope, were both white.

Aasylei Loggervale is seen being taken from her car in September 2019 outside a Starbucks in Castro Valley, California 

The deputies told the trio that they were searching for suspects in a series of car thefts.

Loggervale refusing to give her identification, asked the officer: ‘What kind of crime did I commit?’

The court documents state: ‘Loggervale did not want to engage further with Defendants because, as a black person, she feared that the encounter could result in serious physical harm or death to her and/or her daughter.’

She ‘stated that they had not done anything wrong and had no connection whatsoever to any auto burglaries,’ the suit states.

Holland then ordered all three family members out of the car and detained them, body camera video shows.

The police officers, who did not state a reason as to why they were arresting them, handcuffed the family and ‘forcefully’ put them in a patrol car, the lawsuit states.

The family was held for several minutes, with no citation or charges. 

All three had abrasions to their wrists and arms and suffered ’emotional distress, fear (and) embarrassment,’ the lawsuit said.

Steven Holland, a deputy with Alameda County, detained the family

Holland was accompanied by Deputy Monica Pope

The Loggervale family accused the deputies of racially profiling them when they detained the trio while searching for car thieves

The jury ruled that the officer’s conduct was ‘unlawful’ and that Holland and Alameda County together must pay $2.75 million to the mother and $2 million to each daughter, while Pope and the county must pay $750,000 to each daughter, according to the final order.

Craig Peters, one of the attorneys representing the Loggervales, said the family brought the case to see the deputies brought to justice.

‘This is vindication and validation for the Loggervales, that they’ve been wronged and that means a lot,’ he said.

‘They’re a rather private family. 

‘But they felt that what had happened was really wrong, and so they were willing to file the lawsuit and try to hold the sheriff’s office accountable.’

Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez said that she was unable to comment. 

‘The community’s trust in my agency is foundational to my mission of maintaining a positive relationship with those we serve,’ she told CBS News in a statement.

‘The facts of this case are extremely important to me and our community members, however, I must reserve my comments until the case has been fully adjudicated through the court system.’

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