A 24-year-old woman who says she was stopped by Portland police, ordered out of her car at gunpoint and briefly handcuffed under the mistaken belief that she was driving a stolen car has filed a $49,000 lawsuit against the city.

Officers used a spike strip to flatten the tires of her 1999 Honda Civic and had her back out of her car with her hands up before they realized their blunder: The officer who first spotted her had matched only part of her license plate to the license plate of a car reported as stolen, according to police reports.

The stop unfolded about 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 10 as Sophia Holmes was driving back to her Gresham home, according to the suit filed this month in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

According to Officer Christopher Gjovik’s report, the officer spotted Holmes driving by at Southeast 148th and Powell Boulevard. He was able read the first numeral of her license plate, as well as all three letters. Gjovik assumed he had just seen a stolen car listed on his “hotsheet,” and so he radioed for Gresham police to throw down a spike strip at 181st and Powell, according to Gjovik’s report.

According to a report written by Portland Officer David Arnold, Arnold set out a spike strip at 169th and Powell. Holmes drove across it at about 35 mph — and her tires quickly flattened, causing her to come to a stop within two blocks, Arnold wrote.

Although Holmes was ordered to raise her hands up and face away from the officer, Arnold’s police report says no guns were drawn.

But Holmes’ attorney, Josephine Townsend, said Holmes says officers were pointing guns at her when they ordered her to drop to the ground in a prone position. Police reports say Holmes was “detained,” but make no mention of handcuffs. Townsend said her client was handcuffed.

When police told Holmes she was driving a stolen car, Townsend said her client proclaimed her innocence.

“She was terrified and told them that it was her car and she was on her way home,” Townsend wrote in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Police said the stop was brief.

“We immediately recognized our error and apologized profusely to the driver,” Gjovik wrote in his report.

Police gave Holmes information about where to get her tires fixed and the phone number of the city’s risk management office, where she could file a complaint for damages, according to police reports.

The City Attorney’s Office declined comment on the lawsuit.

Sgt. Pete Simpson spoke in general terms about police procedures for stopping a suspected stolen car.

When officers believe they see a stolen car, they typically will radio for back-up and ideally try to stop the car with a total of four patrol cars present. Officers can either do that with lights and sirens, or surround all four sides of the suspected stolen car and bring it to a stop, Simpson said.

Spike strips might be used preemptively or if the suspect doesn’t stop, Simpson said. But officers use their own discretion when conducting stops, depending on the circumstances, Simpson said.

The lawsuit claims that police failed to follow established police protocols and procedures. It also says police endangered Holmes’ life by using the spike strips, describing them as potentially “deadly physical force.”

“In this case, they did not even attempt to pull her over with lights or siren,” Townsend said. “They just threw out the spike strips as she was driving by. No police car ever tried stopping her before they did that.”

The lawsuit states that Holmes has suffered stress, insomnia, elevated blood pressure, nausea and vomiting because of the stop.

The suit seeks $19,000 for past and future medical and counseling expenses and $30,000 for her emotional distress. Read the lawsuit here.