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Elderly Woman Sues Cops Over Being Pepper-Sprayed

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

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.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.

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