Jury to Decide Damages to Be Awarded Al Joyner

The civil rights case of Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner--who alleges that his treatment by Los Angeles Police Department officers during two traffic stops caused him to miss a chance at competing in the 1992 Olympic Games--will be heard by a jury today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Judge Terry J. Hatter had previously ruled that Joyner’s civil rights were violated by police officers involved in consecutive traffic stops on May 8, 1992. The remaining issues before the jury are the amounts of compensatory and punitive damages.

Joyner was pulled over twice within a few blocks in Hollywood, the first time for suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle and the second for suspicion of being involved in a felony hit-and-run accident.

Joyner was driving a car belonging to his wife, Olympic gold medalist Florence Griffith Joyner. Police officers incorrectly identified the car’s vanity plates, and when the computer showed the plates belonged on a truck and not a car, officers suspected the plates and car had been stolen and called for backup. Joyner was pulled over and treated as a “high-risk felony suspect.”

Joyner was ordered from his car at gunpoint, told to kneel on the sidewalk, and handcuffed. When the plates were re-run and Joyner’s identity was established, he was released.

He was pulled over two blocks later by officers who had served as backup at the first incident. They said the car matched the description of a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident. Joyner was detained about 20 minutes and released.

Police say both incidents were routine traffic stops, but Joyner alleges they were racially motivated.

In a pretrial hearing on Tuesday, Hatter called the actions of the officers at the second stop “reasonable work” and granted those officers immunity.

The second incident will not be considered by the jury.