Woman to get $550K in traffic stop case against ex-trooper

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A woman will be getting $550,000 as part of a settlement of her lawsuit against a former Vermont State Police trooper whom she accused of unlawfully arresting and detaining her in a 2010 traffic stop.

The Burlington Free Press reports that Fata Sakoc, a native of Bosnia, sued Timothy Carlson in 2011. He resigned in 2013 and joined the U.S. Army.

The two sides reached a settlement Monday and agreed to dismiss the case.

Sakoc’s lawyer says Sakoc wasn’t criminally charged after the stop, but it “had a significant impact on her employment and mental state.” He said it triggered post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from her experience in Bosnia and she was no longer able to work as a licensed nursing assistant.

Carlson’s lawyers didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.

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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com