The applicant, a Black woman, alleged racial and gender discrimination during a traffic stop by a police officer while she was delivering newspapers.
The encounter quickly escalated into an arrest after the applicant failed to immediately provide identification, instead attempting to call her husband on her cellphone.
The Tribunal found that the officer's failure to de-escalate the situation and his decision to arrest and charge the applicant were influenced by unconscious racial and gender biases.
The Tribunal held the officer, the Police Services Board, and the Chief of Police jointly and severally liable, awarding the applicant $5,000 in damages for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.