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TRAFFIC COP SUES ‘LAGUNA BEACH’ STAR OVER N-WORD: Jason Wahler hit with a civil rights lawsuit.
*A black Los Angeles traffic cop has filed an assault and civil rights lawsuit against MTV reality star Jason Wahler and his former girlfriend Kristen DeLuca over allegations that they hurled the N-word as well as punches his way as he attempted to help a tow-truck driver.
Jonathan Wallace, a traffic officer for the Department of Transportation, filed the suit Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court asking for at least $200,000 in damages for assault, battery and violation of civil rights.
According to the lawsuit, Wallace was assisting a tow-truck driver who was impounding a car on L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard when a vehicle carrying Wahler and DeLuca nearly clipped the tow truck and Wallace, who was attempting to stop traffic so that the truck could maneuver into place.
The offending vehicle, driven by their unidentified "friend," pulled over and Wahler and DeLuca got out "in an aggressive and confrontational manner."
"Wahler approached the tow-truck driver first, physically thrusting his chest into that of the tow-truck driver while unleashing a verbal barrage of racial statements and swearing profusely," the suit contends.
Wallace says he attempted to calm down Wahler "in a professional and courteous manner," but Wahler responded with another chest thrust, allegedly calling the officer a "ni**er," "motherf***er," "fag" and "fatass." Wahler, 20, then punched Wallace in the left eye, according to the lawsuit.
Wahler and DeLuca, both white, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery stemming from the incident. DeLuca was given 24 months' probation and a suspended 120-day jail sentence. Wahler, known for his stints on MTV’s “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills,” was initially ordered to serve two months in jail for the drunken outburst, but had the sentence suspended after checking into rehab. He was also placed on 36 months' probation, ordered to attend 104 AA meetings and 36 hours of anger-management classes and directed to perform community service at Los Angeles' Museum of Tolerance.
Wahler was also jailed after he was arrested in Seattle on charges of assault, criminal trespass and underage drinking for an alcohol-fueled hotel brawl. That arrest, Wahler's fourth in less than a year, also featured a racial and homophobic outburst against the arresting officer, according to prosecutors.
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