RUSH: The story is from the Houston Chronicle. “Talk about your Monday from hell. Not only did Bridgett Nickerson Boyd’s car break down on her way to work, but when she pulled over to the side of the freeway, a sheriff’s deputy named Mark Goad pulled behind her, wrote her a ticket for driving on the shoulder, decided to arrest her, followed her to the hospital when her suddenly racing heart prompted a call to paramedics, then took her into custody again after she was treated by doctors and finally drove her to jail.”
Wait.
“To make matters worse, Boyd claims in a lawsuit that the handcuffs were put on her wrists painfully tight and that she was forced to listen to conservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh “make derogatory comments about black people” all the way to the jail. Boyd is African-American. Because of the incident, which occurred on Oct. 4, 2010,” and we’re just now learning of this, “Boyd filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Goad and Harris County alleging defamation, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.” That’s where I come in.
“‘Deputy Goad was aware that Boyd had not committed a crime and her arrest was without probable cause,’ according to the lawsuit filed in Houston. The magistrate who saw her while jailed apparently agreed and dismissed all charges. A spokesman for Sheriff Adrian Garcia declined to comment on the lawsuit.” We have an audio sound bite on this. This is a montage of Houston television stations and anchors talking about the woman suing Houston police because they forced her to listen to
me.
HURST: We haven’t heard this one before. She complains a deputy forced her to listen to Rush Limbaugh. She’s suing for mental anguish.
BALLEZA: Handcuffed, and forced to listen to Rush Limbaugh?
SACHSE: She was forced to listen to Rush Limbaugh, quote, “make derogatory remarks about black people through the deputy’s radio on the way to jail.”
CAREY: To torment her, he made her sit in the back of his patrol car listening to Rush Limbaugh.
RUSH: Now, it sounds like the way this thing got reported down there, that that was the number one offense. (laughing) Not the handcuffs. This woman doesn’t know how lucky she is. What a great opportunity she had, forced to listen. Derogatory comments about black people? We don’t make derogatory comments about black people. We make derogatory comments about liberals. According to her Facebook page, Bridgett Nickerson Boyd’s favorite TV shows are Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow. No surprise there. (laughing) I don’t know about Jerry Springer. He’s not mentioned. Wouldn’t doubt it, though. Forced to listen. Emotional distress.