Penn Police officer accused of assault

A Penn Police officer was accused of physical assault in a lawsuit filed on Dec. 30 against the University of Pennsylvania Police Department.

Halimah Allen, a 26-year-old currently living in Georgia, is asking for damages and legal costs for a July 23, 2013 incident. She filed a lawsuit against the Penn Police Department and two officers — one Officer Julia Umbrell, and the other unnamed, serving as backup for Umbrell.

Allen was inebriated and arrested outside of a bar in the Penn Patrol Zone under alleged trespassing and peace disturbance charges at the time the alleged incident occurred, according to the preliminary hearing.

Both Umbrell and Allen then claim that they struggled in self-defense due to the directed aggression of the other. Allen was arrested under a charge of alleged trespassing and assault of a police officer after Umbrell allegedly slammed her against the vehicle and threw her to the ground, according to the complaint filed in federal court.

Allen sustained injuries to her neck, back and shoulders in addition to nerve damage and facial lacerations, the complaint said. She was transferred to Mercy Philadelphia Primary Hospital upon her arrival to the police station.

At the preliminary hearing on Aug. 12, 2013, the Municipal Court of Philadelphia dismissed all charges filed against Allen. She is now suing the Penn Police Department in federal court for the violation of her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights — namely unlawful search and seizure, excessive force and substantive due process.

In the moments before the alleged assault took place, Allen was asleep on a man’s lap in the passenger seat of a parked vehicle near the 3100 block of Market Street, according to Allen’s complaint. Allen claims that the unnamed driver flagged Umbrell for assistance because the driver was too intoxicated to take her home. However, at the preliminary hearing, Umbrell said that the driver did not know Allen and needed Umbrell’s assistance in removing Allen from his car. The driver did not show up on the date of the preliminary hearing.

Almost a year and a half after the incident, Allen decided to file a formal lawsuit this December after Penn Police did not respond to requests from her lawyer to negotiate a settlement, her lawyer said. She claims to suffer from permanent loss of income due to irreparable back pain she says is a result of the incident, hindering her ability to stand for extended periods of time in her job as a cocktail waitress.

“When the opportunity came to [the Penn Police Department] to address this issue, they have just been obsolete or totally ignorant and unaware,” Allen’s lawyer, Mu’min Islam said.

The Penn Police Department declined to comment because the litigation is still pending.

Allen and her legal counsel are currently waiting for the Penn Police Department to answer their order for appearance. A hearing date is set for Apr. 29.

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