Protester says trooper assaulted her during demonstration

MONTPELIER, Vt. – A protester says a state trooper bent her arm so badly behind her back as he tried to remove her from a demonstration that the pain lasted for a year after.

Shela Linton filed a civil rights violation complaint Friday against Vermont State Police seeking money and an apology.

The Brattleboro Reformer reports Linton was one of 29 demonstrators arrested during a sit-in at then Gov. Peter Shumlin’s inauguration when they refused to leave the building after closing. The demonstrators were calling for a single payer health care system debate.

Linton says she believes the trooper bent her arm because she’s black. She wants an apology, an investigation into the trooper and $500,000 for the pain and medical and legal bills she’s incurred.

The state police refused to comment Wednesday.