A 70-year-old Redding woman who said that police used excessive force during an “unreasonable arrest” while she was on her way to shop at T.J. Maxx is suing the Redding Police Department and the city of Redding, alleging civil rights violations.
In a lawsuit filed in Shasta County Superior Court on May 22, Ileana Harris also alleged battery, malicious prosecution and use of fabricated evidence related to her arrest resulting from a traffic stop on Oct. 12, 2024.
The lawsuit names two officers involved in the arrest, Richard Key and Travis Wood. The lawsuit also names two other Redding officers who were later involved, Theodore Snyder and Jon Sheldon.
The complaint asks for a jury trial and $5 million in damages.
“We are unable to comment on this matter due to pending or ongoing litigation,” said Redding City Manager William Tarbox via email on Wednesday, June 24.
In the complaint, Harris said she has been the owner of the Casino Club on Hilltop Drive since the 1980s. On Oct. 12, 2024, she said she left the business at 7:30 p.m. to drive to T.J. Maxx and shop and then to buy grapefruit juice for the club’s bar.
Harris said as she drove, Key followed her. The officer pulled her over “after he purportedly observed her to drive over the double-yellow line” dividing traffic near Hilltop Drive and East Palisades Avenue, according to the lawsuit.
When he approached her car window, Harris said she asked Key what she’d done to make him pull her over, “as she did not believe that she committed a traffic violation.” After that, the lawsuit said, “Key’s demeanor became abrasive” toward Harris.
A second officer, Wood, arrived at about 9:46 p.m., as determined by his body-worn camera, said the lawsuit. The lawsuit said that Key told Wood that Harris was extremely hostile and angry, “gave him a death stare” and had “lost her mind.”
As the incident continued, the lawsuit said, Harris got out of her car to retrieve her purse from the back seat and then returned to the driver’s side to get back in. “You can’t keep me from getting my purse,” Harris said, according to the lawsuit.
The officers thought Harris might have had a weapon in her pocketbook, the lawsuit said.
Harris said she didn’t hear Key order her to stay in her car, according to the complaint.
As Harris was returning to the driver’s seat, Wood grabbed her and “roughly put her against the car,” arrested her and put her in handcuffs, actions the lawsuit alleged caused bruises and made Harris cry out in pain.
The Shasta County District Attorney’s Office filed a misdemeanor complaint against Harris in September 2025.
During the trial conducted earlier this year, a jury found Harris not guilty on a charge of resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer, according to court documents dated Feb. 11, 2026. The charge related to the alleged traffic violation was dismissed, according to court personnel.
In her lawsuit filed in May against the city of Redding and its police force, Harris also asked for punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial. The complaint also demands Harris’ costs of defending the earlier case in Shasta County Superior Court.
Michele Chandler covers public safety, reports on major trials happening in Shasta County Superior Court, writes about restaurants and handles whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@gannett.com. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding business woman sues police for $5M after traffic stop
Reporting by Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
