NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) -
A Nacogdoches woman has filed a federal lawsuit against a
deputy who she says pepper-sprayed her while she was protesting the TransCanada
pipeline in November.
In a complaint filed Thursday, Barbara Jeannette Singleton,
75, a great-grandmother, claims Cherokee County Deputy Michael Darby sprayed
her in the eyes while she was peaceably protesting the construction of the
pipeline.
Singleton's attorney, Curtis Stuckey, writes in the
complaint that Singleton "did not violate any law ... did not pose any
threat ... did not refuse to comply with any command ... was not given any
warning" when Darby sprayed her.
"The pepper spray was extremely painful," Stuckey
writes. "Plaintiff Singleton has given birth to four children, two without
anesthetic, and the pepper spray was more painful than childbirth."
Singleton was one of more than 100 people showing their
support for three protesters who had climbed 50-foot pine trees to create
"tree blockades" with their lifelines attached to heavy equipment on
the ground below them.
The proposed pipeline will extend pipeline capacity 485
miles from Cushing, Okla., to Nederland.
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