LAKE CHARLES –– Golden Nugget Casino and the Lake Charles City Police Department face a lawsuit over excessive force and false arrest.
Anastasia Sinegal filed a pro se complaint on Aug. 31 in the U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana against the casino, police department and individual officers.
According to the complaint, casino security told Sinegal to leave the casino after learning she complained to the state's gaming board about game malfunctions and a cheating employee. When Sinegal refused, security called the police. Sinegal claims the responding officer immediately handcuffed her and slammed her to the ground. Despite her warnings about various medical issues, Sinegal says the police did not treat her any less roughly.
After her arrest, Sinegal was taken to Lafayette Hospital for treatment, the complaint states. She claims to suffer from migraines, tinnitus, seizures and brain damage.
Sinegal says the police officers used excessive force and falsely arrested her. She seeks unspecified damages.
Sinegal's 19-page complaint goes into detail about the alleged malfunctions at the casino and the security team's response.
"On July 28 is when 'Kill yourself! Kill yourself now!' appeared on my computer screen," Sinegal wrote in the complaint. "I yelled for others to look. As the second one appeared, I jumped up and turned and there was a software technician."