Last Updated on October 22, 2021 by CCAR Staff
A woman arrested by Garden Grove police for driving under the influence when she was actually having a stroke has received a total of $800,000 from the city and its private jailer to settle her wrongful arrest lawsuit.
The settlements end a 10-year legal battle over the arrest of Robin Winger, who was 43 years old when police picked her up on Oct. 31, 2011. Winger started speaking erratically while taking her 15-year-old daughter to Garden Grove High School. Her statements didn’t make sense, said her attorney, Jerry Steering.
Winger was unaware that the passenger side mirror of her Chevrolet truck had clipped the mirror of a parked city vehicle, catching the attention of a nearby police officer,
Officer Michael Elhami activated his lights to pull over Winger, but she didn’t notice them, Steering said. Elhami then turned on his siren, which caused a confused Winger to pull over in a jerking manner.
Elhami approached the vehicle and asked Winger why she didn’t immediately stop. Winger’s daughter told the officer that her mother didn’t feel good and there was something wrong with her. Winger told the officer that she had been to the hospital, but couldn’t remember why.
What neither Winger nor the officer knew was that the woman had suffered a stroke on the left side of her brain, Steering said.
The officer called paramedics, saying Winger reported chest pains. The paramedics concluded Winger needed medical treatment, but she declined.
While still confused, Winger was given a field sobriety test and was examined by a Police Department drug recognition expert, who determined she was under the influence. She was then booked for DUI at the city jail, which was operated by private vendor The Geo Group. Winger was placed in a sobering cell, Steering said.
After several hours, Winger was released from jail and driven by her daughter’s father to UC Irvine Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with a stroke and kept for four days, Steering said. Meanwhile, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed misdemeanor DUI charges after learning that she had marijuana in her system, but no alcohol. The charges were dropped two years later in 2014.
In 2013, Winger sued the Police Department and the Geo Group in federal court. The Geo Group settled for $300,000 in 2015. Garden Grove settled recently for $500,000.
Steering said the case illustrates the need for better training so police can tell the difference between intoxication and a stroke, or other health issues.
“Police officers usually suspect intoxication when a person suffers a stroke. They need better training so less people suffer the nightmare of being arrested for intoxication when they need immediate medical help the most,” Steering said.
Garden Grove police were unable to immediately respond and the city’s attorney, Patrick Desmond, did not return messages requesting comment.
