$450,000 award given in lawsuit against hotel

Bill Gang

Tuesday, April 20, 1999 | 11:14 a.m.

In a District Court civil case with racial overtones, a black man who said he was beaten after being handcuffed and detained for hours by Gold Coast hotel-casino security guards has been awarded more than $450,000.

His white girlfriend, who also complained of being fondled and roughed up during the dispute that began over a routine check of her identity to ensure she was 21, was awarded $114,000.

The verdict favoring Dedric Holman and Christina Edwards was reached during a rare Saturday court session in District Judge Gary Redmon's courtroom.

The couple's attorney, Leo Flangas, contended that "race was a factor along with abuse of power" in the February 1994 incident that resulted in the lawsuit against the casino and three security guards.

All but a few hundred dollars of the judgment was ordered to be paid by the Gold Coast.

Flangas said Edwards was asked for her identification, although she was 29 at the time, but she had forgotten her identification and was told she must leave the casino.

She went to the blackjack table where Holman was playing and told him that he would have to take her home to retrieve the identification.

Flangas said Holman told the security officer that the couple would leave after he finished his hand and cashed in his chips, but the officer admitted at trial that he ordered them to leave immediately.

The attorney said Holman laughed at the officer's order and "that infuriated him" and he tried to place a choke hold on the then-23-year-old customer. But Holman broke free and bolted for a door as the officer called for assistance.

Security officers cut off Holman's flight and apprehended him, although at that point the stories differed.

Holman said he was beaten by several officers before and after being handcuffed. The security officers testified that no such beatings occurred.

Flangas noted the testimony of an independent witness who said there was a pool of blood where the altercation had occurred.

Both Holman and Edwards told the jury of being detained for about three hours before Metro Police came to arrest them.

Flangas said Holman suffered internal injuries, vision problems, numbness in his right hand and back problems, in addition to contusions and abrasions.