Elderly woman pepper sprayed by police is suing

Posted: 09.16.2011 at 5:17 AM

Elaine Vanderberg was 79 when officers used pepper spray on her.

FRANKFORT (AP) -- A woman who was pepper-sprayed by police at age 79 is suing officers in Frankfort.

Elaine Vanderberg says she was sprayed by a Frankfort officer outside her Benzie County home while police were trying to arrest her grandson in 2009.

Now 81, she's accusing police of excessive force and says it was a "night of horror." Vanderberg spent a night in jail and was charged with obstructing police, but a judge dismissed the case.

The city of Frankfort says the officer believed he was acting reasonably and should be immune to a lawsuit.

The case is in federal court in Kalamazoo.