Push!

NASHVILLE — A federal jury on Thursday awarded $200,000 in damages to a Nashville woman who was shackled by Davidson County Sheriff's deputies during labor.

The jury deliberated for about an hour before deciding the amount to give to Juana Villegas, who was arrested in July 2008 on a minor traffic violation for which charges were later dropped.

Villegas testified that her wrists and ankles were bound while she was in labor during an ambulance ride from the jail to the hospital. She said she did not know that a deputy who could unlock the shackles was riding in the front of the vehicle.

Villegas, 35, was unshackled shortly before delivery, and her baby boy was born without complications, but she was shackled again shortly afterward. One leg was attached to the bed when she was lying down. Her legs were shackled together when she got up to use the bathroom. And deputies refused to allow her to use a breast pump after giving birth, causing her pain and illness.

This is what abuse of power looks like. Get used to it, because stories like this aren't going anywhere. Guilty or not, she was far from a flight risk and was not in any condition to be of danger to herself or others. Allowing some dignity during childbirth and immediately following would not have been unreasonable.  The fact that the charges were later dropped cannot be held against the police because there is no way they could have known.  However, the fact that they could not know is also why she should have been treated like a human being.