KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Feb. 1) - A woman who miscarried her fetus a day after she was thrown in jail is suing the police department and two arresting officers who ignored her pleas for medical help.
A police videotape released Tuesday shows Sofia Salva telling officers numerous times last Feb. 5 that she was three months pregnant, bleeding and needed to go to a hospital.

After the ninth request, the tape shows, a female officer asked: "How is that my problem?"

Salva was held overnight on traffic violations and outstanding city warrants. After being released the next morning, she suffered a miscarriage, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court.

"It's tragic, it's disappointing, it's frustrating, it's sickening at times," said Salva's attorney, Andrew Protzman. "This is a lady who was in severe medical distress and clearly needed emergency medical attention and medical treatment."

Salva sued officers Melody Spencer and Kevin Schnell and the department for wrongful death, personal injuries and failure to provide medical assistance. Salva is seeking actual damages exceeding $25,000 and punitive damages.
The videotape was released to the media after The Kansas City Star requested it under Missouri's open records law.

Police have opened an internal investigation, Capt. Rich Lockhart said.

"It's a matter of trust. ... We want to make sure the community trusts us to get to the bottom of this regardless of the way it reflects on the police department," Lockhart said.

No telephone numbers are listed for the two officers, and a representative of their union, the Kansas City Police Officers' Association, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday. Lockhart said both Spencer and Schnell are declining to comment.

The officers stopped Salva after they saw her placing a fake temporary tag on the back window of her car.

The tape shows Salva telling the officers she is having a miscarriage and is bleeding.

On the tape, an officer identified as Schnell, who has worked for the department for less than two years, walks away from the car and tells his partner: "She just gave me a line of excuses. She said she's bleeding. She said you can check her."

Salva said: "I'm three months pregnant and I'm bleeding."

The officer identified as Spencer, a four-year veteran, replied: "OK. Why are you driving to the store and then putting a fake temporary tag in your car?"

"I took it because I want to go to the hospital," Salva said.

The officers made Salva sit on the curb while they searched her car, purse and grocery bags.

Salva again told the officers she was bleeding and needed to go to a hospital.

"Well," Spencer said, "that will be something you can take care of when we get done with you."

The officers handcuffed Salva after learning she had outstanding warrants for mistreatment of children, trespassing and several traffic violations.

She again told Schnell she was bleeding.

"I don't doubt that you're possibly bleeding, but you got a lot more problems with us," Schnell said.

No tapes were available of Salva's time in the jail, but she contends in the lawsuit that her continued pleas for help were ignored. The department said videotapes from that period had been recycled before it became aware of Salva's claims.

this seems like a case where the cops b.s. meters went off and they just assumed she was lying. it is sad, but i'm sure cops hear so many lies in the course of the day that when someone does tell the truth it is hard for them to believe it.

if this lady really thought she was in need of immediate medical attention why would she bother with putting on a fake tag? why not just haul your posterior to the hospital and if stopped, explain the situation immediately.

Those tags aren't for driving, they're for parking. From what I read, I was assuming they caught her parking in a handicapped spot, then putting a FAKE temporary handicapped tag in her car to keep from getting a ticket - - so she could go S H O P.
You don't need a special tag to go to the hospital, and if you drive up to the ER and park somewhere you maybe shouldn't, I'm pretty sure if you're having a real emergency they'll overlook it. She might have noticed earlier in the day she was spotting, blah blah blah, but it didn't seem to concern her enough not to go shopping first - until she got busted being an asshole. Were I the cops, I would have been just as suspect of her story.

I think they should've had her checked out. It does look a bit shady that they caught her shopping, but you shouldn't be throwing bleeding people into jail.

I think they should've had her checked out. It does look a bit shady that they caught her shopping, but you shouldn't be throwing bleeding people into jail.

I don't understand why you wouldn't check for blood.

Okay, B, I don't know if your dad missed this part of the conversation, but every woman bleeds from that area for a few days every month.

She very easily could have just been on the rag and claiming she was preggos and bleeding. Henseforth, the pee test. Bleedin' dont meana nothin.