A San Marcos woman who says she was pulled out of her car by a San Diego County Sheriff's deputy in 2013 is now suing the county in federal court.
Bana Mouwakeh is suing for false arrest, excessive force and more.
"I was literally thrown to the ground," said Mouwakeh. "It seemed very surreal, it didn't seem like something was happening."
She says after being pulled over for speeding on San Marcos Boulevard, she reached to look at the deputy's nameplate because she claims he wouldn't tell her who he was.
But, the sheriff's report states Mouwakeh reached and grabbed Deputy Rosas' safety vest and ripped it off him.
"That obviously didn't happen," said Mouwakeh. "That was an embellishment."
Mouwakeh was arrested for battery on a peace officer and resisting arrest. Both charges were dropped.
Now, Mouwakeh and her lawyer Mary Frances Prevost are suing the county of San Diego. On Monday, Prevost filed a motion to amend the complaint. The motion states that under Sheriff Bill Gore, use of force complaints have gone up by 60 percent from 2010, while there were no more arrests.
The lawsuit uses several examples, like the 2012 case of a man with Down syndrome being pepper sprayed by deputies, and the 13-year-old Fallbrook boy a deputy used a stun gun on last year.
"When you have so many examples of the bad apples, it means that the sheriff's department isn't taking that seriously," said Prevost.
Mouwakeh is now back at work, healing from a second knee surgery she says was caused by the deputy.
"Increasingly less and less officers are being held accountable," said Mouwakeh.
10News reached out to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the County Counsel. Spokespeople say they cannot comment on pending litigation.
