There are soooooo many more in just this short period. I'm going to post a few a day because I can only take so much.
Nationwide Police Settlement Thread........How We Pay Them to Violate Us.
- Thread starter Politic Negro
- Start date
City settles for $325,000 following suit alleging police excessive force, negligence
LAS CRUCES - A lawsuit accusing a Las Cruces police officer of excessive force and his supervisors of negligence was dismissed with prejudice late last month after the city agreed to settle for $325,000.
Jacob Sanchez, who was left without an areola after an encounter with a police K-9, filed a lawsuit against Las Cruces Police Officer Isaiah Baker and others in March 2019.
LAS CRUCES - A lawsuit accusing a Las Cruces police officer of excessive force and his supervisors of negligence was dismissed with prejudice late last month after the city agreed to settle for $325,000.
Jacob Sanchez, who was left without an areola after an encounter with a police K-9, filed a lawsuit against Las Cruces Police Officer Isaiah Baker and others in March 2019.
Baker has been sued at least twice before for excessive use of force, according to court records.
Sanchez's suit argued that Baker's history of misconduct should have prevented the officer from becoming a K-9 handler and also named five of his supervisors within the Las Cruces Police Department and city of Las Cruces.
On May 6, 2017, Baker's K-9, Zeke, latched on to Sanchez during a traffic stop. Sanchez argued the dog disobeyed Baker's commands to let go of him and, when the K-9 finally did let go, the dog was praised by Baker.
Sanchez's areola on the left side of his chest was permanently detached after the incident, the suit stated.
The lawsuit specified seven claims against Baker, his unnamed supervisors and the city, including excessive force, battery and negligence, as well as a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The suit accused Baker of negligence because he wasn't able to handle issued equipment (K-9 Zeke) and accused the department of negligently allowing "an officer with a history of violent interactions with the public to use a K-9 unit while on patrol."
The suit had requested a jury trial and compensation.
But the suit was dropped when the sides reached the settlement agreement.
The city and LCPD declined to comment further on the case.
K9 takes down Sanchez
According to a court filing, Sanchez was driving in May 2017 when LCPD Officer Joshua Savage attempted to pull him over. Sanchez sped up and eventually crashed into a wall at Del Monte Street and Griggs Avenue.
Savage wrote in a police report that he attempted to pull over Sanchez because he was traveling 65 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone.
Sanchez allegedly admitted to police he'd been drinking a lot that night, and had fled from police because he didn't want his truck taken away.
Following the crash, Sanchez fled on foot.
Baker was one of the officers to respond and was the first to locate Sanchez.
The suit argued that Sanchez was calmly and slowly walking toward Baker, and did not make a move toward his pockets or waist when Baker released Zeke.
Once Zeke took down Sanchez, the K-9 did not respond to Baker's commands to release him. According to the lawsuit. Baker had to forcefully remove Zeke from Sanchez.
During this incident, Baker's body camera was not on, but there is body camera footage from several other responding officers.
Baker can be heard on another officer's body camera video praising Zeke, despite the K-9's failure to follow his commands to release, court documents state.
Sanchez was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, speeding, failure to give immediate notice of accidents, driving while license suspended, stop or yield intersection, two counts of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer and one count of attempted battery/assault on a peace officer.
His trial is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2021.
Previous incidents involving Baker
The city has already settled two other excessive force lawsuits involving Baker, a 13-year veteran of LCPS, court records show.
Baker is currently employed by LCPD as Zeke's handler.
In January 2013, Baker fractured a woman's wrist and broke her nose during an arrest, court records show. Jillian and Andrew Beck sued Baker and LCPD Officer Joseph Campa, claiming excessive force, and settled with the city for $1.4 million.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed an excessive force suit against Baker and LCPD Officer Jonathon Davis after an incident involving the arrest of Osbaldo Flores in June 2016.
Flores, a bystander who had been making critical comments about Baker and Davis, was tased, thrown to the ground and pepper sprayed because of his supposed disorderly conduct. Flores was charged with several petty misdemeanors at the time but all charges were all eventually dismissed.
The lawsuit was settled in May 2020 for $175,000. As a result of the settlement, Baker and Davis are required to take additional training in use of force practices, which will include training on the First Amendment.
In January 2014 — after the Beck incident but before the Beck's excessive force lawsuit was settled — Baker was transferred to the K-9 section. To become a K-9 handler, an officer must apply and test for it. It's considered a promotion, according to LCPD spokesperson Dan Trujillo.
In January 2019, Baker obtained certification through the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, making him eligible for senior officer pay, according to LCPD.
The Sun-News has requested copies of all commendations and awards earned by Baker throughout his career, but has not yet received that information.
The Sun-News did obtain from the city records showing Baker has been disciplined four times by the department:
Baker has been involved in two deadly shootings, according to Sun-News archives.
In January 2010, he and LCPD Officer Manuel Frias shot and killed 25-year-old Antonio Medrano Jr., who armed himself and rushed at the two officers despite their commands to drop his weapon.
Medrano's family later filed a lawsuit against the two officers. The case was settled in federal court for $180,000.
In 2019, Baker shot and killed 47-year-old Gary Daniel McKinney who had a slip-knot ligature around his mother's neck and was holding a knife to her back. The Third Judicial District Attorney's office cleared Baker in any wrongdoing.
Bethany Freudenthal can be reached at bfreudenthal@lcsun-news.com, 575-541-5449 or @bethanyfreuden1 on Twitter.
Sanchez's suit argued that Baker's history of misconduct should have prevented the officer from becoming a K-9 handler and also named five of his supervisors within the Las Cruces Police Department and city of Las Cruces.
On May 6, 2017, Baker's K-9, Zeke, latched on to Sanchez during a traffic stop. Sanchez argued the dog disobeyed Baker's commands to let go of him and, when the K-9 finally did let go, the dog was praised by Baker.
Sanchez's areola on the left side of his chest was permanently detached after the incident, the suit stated.
The lawsuit specified seven claims against Baker, his unnamed supervisors and the city, including excessive force, battery and negligence, as well as a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The suit accused Baker of negligence because he wasn't able to handle issued equipment (K-9 Zeke) and accused the department of negligently allowing "an officer with a history of violent interactions with the public to use a K-9 unit while on patrol."
The suit had requested a jury trial and compensation.
But the suit was dropped when the sides reached the settlement agreement.
The city and LCPD declined to comment further on the case.
K9 takes down Sanchez
According to a court filing, Sanchez was driving in May 2017 when LCPD Officer Joshua Savage attempted to pull him over. Sanchez sped up and eventually crashed into a wall at Del Monte Street and Griggs Avenue.
Savage wrote in a police report that he attempted to pull over Sanchez because he was traveling 65 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone.
Sanchez allegedly admitted to police he'd been drinking a lot that night, and had fled from police because he didn't want his truck taken away.
Following the crash, Sanchez fled on foot.
Baker was one of the officers to respond and was the first to locate Sanchez.
The suit argued that Sanchez was calmly and slowly walking toward Baker, and did not make a move toward his pockets or waist when Baker released Zeke.
Once Zeke took down Sanchez, the K-9 did not respond to Baker's commands to release him. According to the lawsuit. Baker had to forcefully remove Zeke from Sanchez.
During this incident, Baker's body camera was not on, but there is body camera footage from several other responding officers.
Baker can be heard on another officer's body camera video praising Zeke, despite the K-9's failure to follow his commands to release, court documents state.
Sanchez was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, speeding, failure to give immediate notice of accidents, driving while license suspended, stop or yield intersection, two counts of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer and one count of attempted battery/assault on a peace officer.
His trial is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2021.
Previous incidents involving Baker
The city has already settled two other excessive force lawsuits involving Baker, a 13-year veteran of LCPS, court records show.
Baker is currently employed by LCPD as Zeke's handler.
In January 2013, Baker fractured a woman's wrist and broke her nose during an arrest, court records show. Jillian and Andrew Beck sued Baker and LCPD Officer Joseph Campa, claiming excessive force, and settled with the city for $1.4 million.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed an excessive force suit against Baker and LCPD Officer Jonathon Davis after an incident involving the arrest of Osbaldo Flores in June 2016.
Flores, a bystander who had been making critical comments about Baker and Davis, was tased, thrown to the ground and pepper sprayed because of his supposed disorderly conduct. Flores was charged with several petty misdemeanors at the time but all charges were all eventually dismissed.
The lawsuit was settled in May 2020 for $175,000. As a result of the settlement, Baker and Davis are required to take additional training in use of force practices, which will include training on the First Amendment.
In January 2014 — after the Beck incident but before the Beck's excessive force lawsuit was settled — Baker was transferred to the K-9 section. To become a K-9 handler, an officer must apply and test for it. It's considered a promotion, according to LCPD spokesperson Dan Trujillo.
In January 2019, Baker obtained certification through the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, making him eligible for senior officer pay, according to LCPD.
The Sun-News has requested copies of all commendations and awards earned by Baker throughout his career, but has not yet received that information.
The Sun-News did obtain from the city records showing Baker has been disciplined four times by the department:
- In June 2009, Baker was suspended for 10 hours because of unsatisfactory work performance.
- In 2011, Baker was suspended for 20 hours because of unsatisfactory work performance.
- In January 2015, Baker received a written reprimand in conjunction with an unspecified discipline.
- In November 2018, Baker received a written reprimand in conjunction with an unspecified discipline.
Baker has been involved in two deadly shootings, according to Sun-News archives.
In January 2010, he and LCPD Officer Manuel Frias shot and killed 25-year-old Antonio Medrano Jr., who armed himself and rushed at the two officers despite their commands to drop his weapon.
Medrano's family later filed a lawsuit against the two officers. The case was settled in federal court for $180,000.
In 2019, Baker shot and killed 47-year-old Gary Daniel McKinney who had a slip-knot ligature around his mother's neck and was holding a knife to her back. The Third Judicial District Attorney's office cleared Baker in any wrongdoing.
Bethany Freudenthal can be reached at bfreudenthal@lcsun-news.com, 575-541-5449 or @bethanyfreuden1 on Twitter.
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Minneapolis City Council OKs $1 million police brutality settlement
The council votes 8-5 to pay a man assaulted by an off-duty officer, but objections remain.
By Libor Jany Star Tribune
DECEMBER 4, 2020 — 9:01PM
The city of Minneapolis has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit by a man who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being assaulted by an off-duty police officer.
The settlement was reached at a City Council session Friday. During the discussion, Council President Lisa Bender broke from protocol to relay to viewers what she had told colleagues in private.
They also met privately to discuss an expected settlement in Floyd’s death, which could rival the $20 million payout to the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, killed by a Minneapolis officer in 2017.
The council votes 8-5 to pay a man assaulted by an off-duty officer, but objections remain.
By Libor Jany Star Tribune
DECEMBER 4, 2020 — 9:01PM
The city of Minneapolis has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit by a man who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being assaulted by an off-duty police officer.
The settlement was reached at a City Council session Friday. During the discussion, Council President Lisa Bender broke from protocol to relay to viewers what she had told colleagues in private.
Bender, who has announced she will not run again, said she recognizes that some of her colleagues had “solid reasons” for wanting to settle the matter out of court, but she worried that doing so “is creating an environment where we’re not motivated to take the actions that we need to take as a city” and that she would vote no.
“Having served for seven years and voted for many settlements, I find myself hearing over and over that the legal weaknesses we have as a city, that the potential legal risk that we have can be remedied by actions of reform and policy change,” Bender said. “Yet the lawsuits keep coming. Yet the actions don’t seem to be taken to change those policies and practices in a meaningful way so that we’re not back in the same place again and again and again.”
Still, the council voted 8-5 to approve the payment.
Bender’s sentiments were echoed by Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, who like Bender has been among the strongest voices advocating for downsizing the city’s police force. Ellison said he believes that continuing to sign off on settlements in police misconduct cases sends the message that officials are “accepting these kinds of incidents as simply the cost of doing business when it comes to public safety in Minneapolis.”
“I have voted for settlements that felt wrong internally, but felt like the right thing to do economically, but [that haven’t] led to the kind of change that we need,” he said.
Bender’s and Ellison’s comments underscored how decisions that in the past might have been avoided or addressed with less emotion are being viewed in a new light since the May 25 death of George Floyd.
The City Attorney’s Office and the Minneapolis Police Department both declined to comment on the matter.
The case stemmed from a December 2017 incident at the 1029 Bar in northeast Minneapolis, where Lucas McDonough got into an altercation with off-duty officer Clifton Toles, who was out of uniform and apparently had been drinking, according to the lawsuit. Toles reportedly walked up to the group McDonough was with and accused McDonough of being disrespectful.
Toles then announced himself as a Minneapolis police officer and, without provocation, used a chokehold to drag McDonough out of the bar with a bouncer’s help, the lawsuit claimed. Toles then allegedly punched McDonough in the face, fracturing his cheekbone, knocking him unconscious and causing him to fall and injure his head.
McDonough said the incident left him with a serious brain injury that deprived him of his senses of smell and taste.
He sued the city in federal court, arguing that the department should have done more to screen, train and supervise Toles, who was named as a co-defendant along with Fossland-Olson Inc., which operates the 1029 Bar.
Security footage from inside the bar captured Toles’ use of a chokehold, according to McDonough’s attorney, who likened it to the controversial tactic that led to the death of Eric Garner in New York City in 2014. The maneuver is banned under Minneapolis police policy.
Former city attorney Susan Segal said at the time the suit was filed that the city had “no liability here” because Toles was not working in his official capacity as a police officer, either on or off duty. Police union officials defended Toles, saying he had been asked by “bar employees to help remove an unruly patron.”
Historically, the city has sought to settle such lawsuits to avoid protracted, expensive court battles. But the approach hasn’t been without its critics.
Police union president Bob Kroll has for years accused city leaders of being too quick to settle and said that doing so is an implicit admission of guilt. At the same time, activists have maintained that it slows reform, arguing that the department has no interest or incentive to make changes on its own.
Friday’s settlement was reached as council members took a break from tense budget deliberations, including on whether to pay for mental health services, crime prevention and other measures by taking money from the police budget.
“Having served for seven years and voted for many settlements, I find myself hearing over and over that the legal weaknesses we have as a city, that the potential legal risk that we have can be remedied by actions of reform and policy change,” Bender said. “Yet the lawsuits keep coming. Yet the actions don’t seem to be taken to change those policies and practices in a meaningful way so that we’re not back in the same place again and again and again.”
Still, the council voted 8-5 to approve the payment.
Bender’s sentiments were echoed by Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, who like Bender has been among the strongest voices advocating for downsizing the city’s police force. Ellison said he believes that continuing to sign off on settlements in police misconduct cases sends the message that officials are “accepting these kinds of incidents as simply the cost of doing business when it comes to public safety in Minneapolis.”
“I have voted for settlements that felt wrong internally, but felt like the right thing to do economically, but [that haven’t] led to the kind of change that we need,” he said.
Bender’s and Ellison’s comments underscored how decisions that in the past might have been avoided or addressed with less emotion are being viewed in a new light since the May 25 death of George Floyd.
The City Attorney’s Office and the Minneapolis Police Department both declined to comment on the matter.
The case stemmed from a December 2017 incident at the 1029 Bar in northeast Minneapolis, where Lucas McDonough got into an altercation with off-duty officer Clifton Toles, who was out of uniform and apparently had been drinking, according to the lawsuit. Toles reportedly walked up to the group McDonough was with and accused McDonough of being disrespectful.
Toles then announced himself as a Minneapolis police officer and, without provocation, used a chokehold to drag McDonough out of the bar with a bouncer’s help, the lawsuit claimed. Toles then allegedly punched McDonough in the face, fracturing his cheekbone, knocking him unconscious and causing him to fall and injure his head.
McDonough said the incident left him with a serious brain injury that deprived him of his senses of smell and taste.
He sued the city in federal court, arguing that the department should have done more to screen, train and supervise Toles, who was named as a co-defendant along with Fossland-Olson Inc., which operates the 1029 Bar.
Security footage from inside the bar captured Toles’ use of a chokehold, according to McDonough’s attorney, who likened it to the controversial tactic that led to the death of Eric Garner in New York City in 2014. The maneuver is banned under Minneapolis police policy.
Former city attorney Susan Segal said at the time the suit was filed that the city had “no liability here” because Toles was not working in his official capacity as a police officer, either on or off duty. Police union officials defended Toles, saying he had been asked by “bar employees to help remove an unruly patron.”
Historically, the city has sought to settle such lawsuits to avoid protracted, expensive court battles. But the approach hasn’t been without its critics.
Police union president Bob Kroll has for years accused city leaders of being too quick to settle and said that doing so is an implicit admission of guilt. At the same time, activists have maintained that it slows reform, arguing that the department has no interest or incentive to make changes on its own.
Friday’s settlement was reached as council members took a break from tense budget deliberations, including on whether to pay for mental health services, crime prevention and other measures by taking money from the police budget.
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Baltimore illegally kept half of a woman’s settlement when she spoke about allegations police abused her, a federal judge ruled
PHILLIP JACKSON SEPTEMBER 22, 2020
The city of Baltimore committed an “illegal act” when it took $31,500 from a woman who settled a lawsuit and then spoke out publicly about allegations that police beat her, a federal judge ruled Monday while ordering the city to pay the money back, plus interest.
“This order finally brings about well-deserved resolution for Ms. Underwood, who, throughout this long ordeal, never wavered in her commitment to fundamental free speech rights, notwithstanding the City’s bullying and thievery,” said Deborah Jeon, Legal Director for the ACLU of Maryland.
PHILLIP JACKSON SEPTEMBER 22, 2020
The city of Baltimore committed an “illegal act” when it took $31,500 from a woman who settled a lawsuit and then spoke out publicly about allegations that police beat her, a federal judge ruled Monday while ordering the city to pay the money back, plus interest.
Ashley Overbey Underwood sued three Baltimore police officers, alleging they beat, tasered, verbally abused and arrested her in 2012 after she called 911 to report a burglary. The city settled the case in 2014 for $63,000. After The Sun reported on the original settlement, Overbey Underwood responded to comments accusing her of initiating the arrest to get a big payout, and gave her version of events online.
The gag orders have since been ruled unconstitutional and the city has said it stopped using them years ago. But despite the rulings , it has continued to fight Overbey Underwood and to keep her money, according to federal court records.
“By its conduct in unconstitutionally enforcing the now discredited clause, the City withheld half of the settlement proceeds,” U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow wrote, later adding: “The seeming inference is that their illegal act should not be undone simply because no one thought, or even suspected, it was illegal at the time.”
“Just as ‘strong public interests’ render the clause unenforceable, those interests counsel against allowing the City to keep the fruits of such improper enforcement," Chasanow wrote. The judge ordered the money to be paid back, plus interest at 6-percent annually.
Last year, the Baltimore City Council unanimously passed a bill that bans the use of gag orders in city settlements for police brutality and discrimination cases. The move followed the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the city’s use of them was unconstitutional.
On Tuesday, Overbey Underwood, who was joined in the lawsuit by The American Civil Liberties Union and the Baltimore Brew, called Chasanow’s ruling a victory for free speech, especially for Black residents at a time when issues of racial injustice and police violence are at the forefront of the national conversation.
“It’s been hurtful to see and hear so many horrible things that happened,” Overbey Underwood said in a statement released by the ACLU of Maryland. “But at the end of the day, it’s been amazing that we as a people stood together and was able to stand up to the bullies. If you have anything unjustly done to you, don’t give up, no matter how big that bully is."
Baltimore officials have paid millions of dollars in recent years to settle misconduct lawsuits and allegations of abuse by its police officers, some of whom were indicted and sent to federal prison. Critics of the non-disclosure clauses say they shield bad officers from public scrutiny.
City Council President Brandon Scott said the judge’s ruling was “the right call,” adding “As a city, we must own our mistakes and be accountable to Baltimore residents.”
Baltimore City Solicitor Dana Moore said the city won’t appeal and "will be working to get payment to Ms. Overbey [Underwood] as expeditiously as possible.”
The gag orders have since been ruled unconstitutional and the city has said it stopped using them years ago. But despite the rulings , it has continued to fight Overbey Underwood and to keep her money, according to federal court records.
“By its conduct in unconstitutionally enforcing the now discredited clause, the City withheld half of the settlement proceeds,” U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow wrote, later adding: “The seeming inference is that their illegal act should not be undone simply because no one thought, or even suspected, it was illegal at the time.”
“Just as ‘strong public interests’ render the clause unenforceable, those interests counsel against allowing the City to keep the fruits of such improper enforcement," Chasanow wrote. The judge ordered the money to be paid back, plus interest at 6-percent annually.
Last year, the Baltimore City Council unanimously passed a bill that bans the use of gag orders in city settlements for police brutality and discrimination cases. The move followed the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the city’s use of them was unconstitutional.
On Tuesday, Overbey Underwood, who was joined in the lawsuit by The American Civil Liberties Union and the Baltimore Brew, called Chasanow’s ruling a victory for free speech, especially for Black residents at a time when issues of racial injustice and police violence are at the forefront of the national conversation.
“It’s been hurtful to see and hear so many horrible things that happened,” Overbey Underwood said in a statement released by the ACLU of Maryland. “But at the end of the day, it’s been amazing that we as a people stood together and was able to stand up to the bullies. If you have anything unjustly done to you, don’t give up, no matter how big that bully is."
Baltimore officials have paid millions of dollars in recent years to settle misconduct lawsuits and allegations of abuse by its police officers, some of whom were indicted and sent to federal prison. Critics of the non-disclosure clauses say they shield bad officers from public scrutiny.
City Council President Brandon Scott said the judge’s ruling was “the right call,” adding “As a city, we must own our mistakes and be accountable to Baltimore residents.”
Baltimore City Solicitor Dana Moore said the city won’t appeal and "will be working to get payment to Ms. Overbey [Underwood] as expeditiously as possible.”
“This order finally brings about well-deserved resolution for Ms. Underwood, who, throughout this long ordeal, never wavered in her commitment to fundamental free speech rights, notwithstanding the City’s bullying and thievery,” said Deborah Jeon, Legal Director for the ACLU of Maryland.
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Two men sued the city and several officers over separate claims of police brutality.
Posted: Feb 4, 2021 11:26 AM
Updated: Feb 4, 2021 11:35 AM
Posted By: Chelsea Hunt
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – The City of Springfield will pay $150,000 to two men who claimed they were victims of police brutality.
Jubal Chaplin and Caleb Beechem filed a lawsuit on Jan. 31, 2020, against the city and several officers.
Chaplin was the passenger in a truck that was pulled over in February 2018. Dashcam video shows officers throwing him to the ground after he reached into his pocket. He will get $50,000.
In a separate incident, Beechem claimed he was beaten and tased in July 2019 after a neighbor called police about his behavior. He will receive $100,000.
Posted: Feb 4, 2021 11:26 AM
Updated: Feb 4, 2021 11:35 AM
Posted By: Chelsea Hunt
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – The City of Springfield will pay $150,000 to two men who claimed they were victims of police brutality.
Jubal Chaplin and Caleb Beechem filed a lawsuit on Jan. 31, 2020, against the city and several officers.
Chaplin was the passenger in a truck that was pulled over in February 2018. Dashcam video shows officers throwing him to the ground after he reached into his pocket. He will get $50,000.
In a separate incident, Beechem claimed he was beaten and tased in July 2019 after a neighbor called police about his behavior. He will receive $100,000.
City of Springfield Settles in Lawsuit After Stacy Kenny's Death
By NATHAN BOUQUET • JUL 16, 2020
Last week, the City of Springfield agreed to settle the case of Stacy Kenny’s March 2019 death at the hands of Springfield Police.
According to the lawsuit, four Springfield Police officers were responsible for the death of Stacy Kenny after a traffic stop. Kenny's family had previously informed SPD that Kenny suffered from schizophrenia, but she was reportedly beaten, tased and shot by police.
The Kenny family’s attorney, David Park, says Springfield police methods exemplified an insular and toxic warrior culture within the department.
“We hope that, true to our agreement, we’ve put in place a framework that will allow them to change that culture,” says Park, “and elevate the role of de-escalation in police-citizen contact and minimize use of force so that lives can be saved.”
Park says the Kenny family will receive a 4.55 million dollar settlement from the City of Springfield. A portion will be used to fund an independent critical incident analysis to be made public and presented to the City Council.
Copyright KLCC, 2020.
By NATHAN BOUQUET • JUL 16, 2020
Last week, the City of Springfield agreed to settle the case of Stacy Kenny’s March 2019 death at the hands of Springfield Police.
According to the lawsuit, four Springfield Police officers were responsible for the death of Stacy Kenny after a traffic stop. Kenny's family had previously informed SPD that Kenny suffered from schizophrenia, but she was reportedly beaten, tased and shot by police.
The Kenny family’s attorney, David Park, says Springfield police methods exemplified an insular and toxic warrior culture within the department.
“We hope that, true to our agreement, we’ve put in place a framework that will allow them to change that culture,” says Park, “and elevate the role of de-escalation in police-citizen contact and minimize use of force so that lives can be saved.”
Park says the Kenny family will receive a 4.55 million dollar settlement from the City of Springfield. A portion will be used to fund an independent critical incident analysis to be made public and presented to the City Council.
Copyright KLCC, 2020.
Phoenix City Council approves $475K settlement in case of Dravon Ames & Iesha Harper
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS5) -- The Phoenix City Council has approved a settlement for almost half a million dollars for a couple involved in a controversial confrontation with Phoenix police officers in May of 2019.
The Council voted 6-2 Wednesday to award a $475,000 settlement in the case of Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper.
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS5) -- The Phoenix City Council has approved a settlement for almost half a million dollars for a couple involved in a controversial confrontation with Phoenix police officers in May of 2019.
The Council voted 6-2 Wednesday to award a $475,000 settlement in the case of Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper.
Phoenix City Council member Carlos Garcia apologized to the couple for what they've gone through. He also thanked them for "their bravery in telling their story and their persistence in seeking justice." He said he knows the money won't take away their trauma, but he hopes that their children will "have a better life for it."
On May 27, 2019, Ames and his fiancee, Harper, along with two kids, were in their car when Phoenix police aimed guns and hurled obscenities at them. The incident was recorded on cellphone cameras, and the video quickly made national headlines.
The confrontation came after police said the couple's daughter took a doll from a store without paying. The Ames and Harper say their 4-year-old took the doll from a store without their knowledge.
The couple had asked for Phoenix police to fire the officers involved and filed a $10 million claim against the City.
The incident led to protests and calls for police reform. In June of 2019, protesters crowded a Phoenix City Council meeting, carrying signs and banners with slogans such as, "Fire the Police" and "Stop Police Brutality and Impunity."
Both of the officers involved were sent to the disciplinary review board. One officer received a written reprimand. But a second officer, Chris Meyer, was fired. "The behavior we witnessed was unacceptable," said Chief Jeri Williams at the time.
On May 27, 2019, Ames and his fiancee, Harper, along with two kids, were in their car when Phoenix police aimed guns and hurled obscenities at them. The incident was recorded on cellphone cameras, and the video quickly made national headlines.
The confrontation came after police said the couple's daughter took a doll from a store without paying. The Ames and Harper say their 4-year-old took the doll from a store without their knowledge.
The couple had asked for Phoenix police to fire the officers involved and filed a $10 million claim against the City.
The incident led to protests and calls for police reform. In June of 2019, protesters crowded a Phoenix City Council meeting, carrying signs and banners with slogans such as, "Fire the Police" and "Stop Police Brutality and Impunity."
Both of the officers involved were sent to the disciplinary review board. One officer received a written reprimand. But a second officer, Chris Meyer, was fired. "The behavior we witnessed was unacceptable," said Chief Jeri Williams at the time.
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Phoenix approves $3 million settlement to family of man shot and killed by police
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- The City of Phoenix city council unanimously passed a settlement connected to a deadly officer-involved shooting in Ahwatukee.
Baeza wants changes within the department, so this doesn't happen to anyone else. "There was no de-escalating," she said. "My brother did all of the de-escalating in that situation."
Baeza says there hasn't been much communication about the ongoing investigation and the family feels betrayed.
Whitaker is remembered as someone funny, an "awesome father," and an all-around good guy who took part in baseball and cornhole tournaments for good causes. "He always made everyone feel welcome," Baeza said. "If it was a family member that is distant, or someone brought a new person along that we all met, he instantly gravitated towards making them feel welcome, and everyone waited for Uncle Ryan to get there."
In the meeting, Councilmembers Carlos Garcia and Sal DiCiccio voiced their support for the Whitaker family and offered their condolences.
"We not only failed this family in our policies, but I feel like we also failed them in being able to walk them through this process," Garcia said. DiCiccio also said that Whitaker did "everything right that night."
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- The City of Phoenix city council unanimously passed a settlement connected to a deadly officer-involved shooting in Ahwatukee.
In a 9-0 vote on Wednesday afternoon, a $3,000,000 settlement was approved to go to the family of Ryan Whitaker.
Whitaker was shot and killed by Phoenix police officer Jeff Cooke on May 21, 2020.
The incident started with a 911 call just after 10:15 p.m. reporting domestic dispute involving a woman and Ryan Whitaker.
Police say the caller contacted 911 again about 30 minutes after the initial call to report that things had escalated. "It's getting really loud and they've been doing it for the last hour," he said. "I hear slamming of doors. I don't know. Somebody could be gettin' thrown into a door for all I know. But I hear all kinds of banging."
Police say Whitaker, 40, was armed when he opened the door to responding officers, who arrived about 10 minutes after the second 911 call. Sgt. Tommy Thompson of the Phoenix Police Department said both officers were wearing body cameras.
Those body-cam videos show that the officers, who knocked on the door and announced themselves as police, were on either side of the apartment door when Whitaker opened the door. He had a gun in his hand and stepped toward one of the officers. "Believing the other is in imminent danger, the second officer fires his weapon, striking Whitaker," Thompson said. Whitaker did not fire his gun, which is shown in a photo on the floor just inside the doorway.
The Phoenix Police Department identified that second officer as Officer Jeff Cooke.
"The entire encounter between the officers and Whitaker lasted just seconds," Thompson said.
Cooke fired three rounds. Whitaker appeared to be starting to kneel and putting his hands up when the officer fired. Whitaker was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
Thompson said Cooke has been with Phoenix PD for about three years. He also said the incident is the subject of two investigations – an internal one and a criminal investigation that will be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. It will up to MCAO to decide if Cooke will face criminal charges.
Katie Baeza, Whitaker's sister, told Arizona's Family on Wednesday that she had a lot of "mixed emotions" after news of the settlement broke. While she's grateful for city leaders' support, Baeza feels like the officers involved still need to be held accountable. She wants charges brought against the officer who shot her brother.
It has been a traumatic year for Baeza and the family as they grapple with Ryan's death. "The trauma is not anything you can explain to people that have never had to sit and watch a video of their loved one be killed," she said.
Whitaker was shot and killed by Phoenix police officer Jeff Cooke on May 21, 2020.
The incident started with a 911 call just after 10:15 p.m. reporting domestic dispute involving a woman and Ryan Whitaker.
Police say the caller contacted 911 again about 30 minutes after the initial call to report that things had escalated. "It's getting really loud and they've been doing it for the last hour," he said. "I hear slamming of doors. I don't know. Somebody could be gettin' thrown into a door for all I know. But I hear all kinds of banging."
Police say Whitaker, 40, was armed when he opened the door to responding officers, who arrived about 10 minutes after the second 911 call. Sgt. Tommy Thompson of the Phoenix Police Department said both officers were wearing body cameras.
Those body-cam videos show that the officers, who knocked on the door and announced themselves as police, were on either side of the apartment door when Whitaker opened the door. He had a gun in his hand and stepped toward one of the officers. "Believing the other is in imminent danger, the second officer fires his weapon, striking Whitaker," Thompson said. Whitaker did not fire his gun, which is shown in a photo on the floor just inside the doorway.
The Phoenix Police Department identified that second officer as Officer Jeff Cooke.
"The entire encounter between the officers and Whitaker lasted just seconds," Thompson said.
Cooke fired three rounds. Whitaker appeared to be starting to kneel and putting his hands up when the officer fired. Whitaker was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
Thompson said Cooke has been with Phoenix PD for about three years. He also said the incident is the subject of two investigations – an internal one and a criminal investigation that will be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. It will up to MCAO to decide if Cooke will face criminal charges.
Katie Baeza, Whitaker's sister, told Arizona's Family on Wednesday that she had a lot of "mixed emotions" after news of the settlement broke. While she's grateful for city leaders' support, Baeza feels like the officers involved still need to be held accountable. She wants charges brought against the officer who shot her brother.
It has been a traumatic year for Baeza and the family as they grapple with Ryan's death. "The trauma is not anything you can explain to people that have never had to sit and watch a video of their loved one be killed," she said.
Baeza wants changes within the department, so this doesn't happen to anyone else. "There was no de-escalating," she said. "My brother did all of the de-escalating in that situation."
Baeza says there hasn't been much communication about the ongoing investigation and the family feels betrayed.
Whitaker is remembered as someone funny, an "awesome father," and an all-around good guy who took part in baseball and cornhole tournaments for good causes. "He always made everyone feel welcome," Baeza said. "If it was a family member that is distant, or someone brought a new person along that we all met, he instantly gravitated towards making them feel welcome, and everyone waited for Uncle Ryan to get there."
In the meeting, Councilmembers Carlos Garcia and Sal DiCiccio voiced their support for the Whitaker family and offered their condolences.
"We not only failed this family in our policies, but I feel like we also failed them in being able to walk them through this process," Garcia said. DiCiccio also said that Whitaker did "everything right that night."
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Tempe agrees to $300K settlement for Black man held at gunpoint by officer
PHOENIX – The city of Tempe has agreed to a $300,000 settlement with a Black hotel worker who was held at gunpoint earlier this year by a police officer who was looking for a white suspect.
The officer, Ronald Kerzaya, has been disciplined over the Aug. 29 incident, the city said Thursday in a press release.
Kerzaya had responded to a call about an armed man at the Hawthorn Suites at Southern Avenue and Price Road. The hotel manager told Kerzaya that the suspect was a white male, police said.
The Tempe Citizens’ Panel for Review of Police Complaints and Use of Force will review the hotel incident in January, according to Thursday’s press release.
PHOENIX – The city of Tempe has agreed to a $300,000 settlement with a Black hotel worker who was held at gunpoint earlier this year by a police officer who was looking for a white suspect.
The officer, Ronald Kerzaya, has been disciplined over the Aug. 29 incident, the city said Thursday in a press release.
Kerzaya had responded to a call about an armed man at the Hawthorn Suites at Southern Avenue and Price Road. The hotel manager told Kerzaya that the suspect was a white male, police said.
While searching the location, Kerzaya came across Trevonyae Cumpian. Kerzaya held Cumpian at gunpoint for several minutes until verifying the Black man’s identification with the hotel manager, according to the release.
Kerzaya, who was hired in 2017, was found to have violated several policies during the incident and is serving a two-week unpaid suspension, the city said.
“I understand that my actions have caused a tremendous amount of anguish for many different people, and I cannot convey enough how remorseful I am for my actions and the aftermath that so many people have been forced to deal with and continue to deal with to this day,” Kerzaya wrote in his official response during the discipline process.
Kerzaya recently passed a psychological exam to determine his fitness to return to duty, but he won’t be allowed to resume patrol duties for at least a year,
“My determination of discipline in Officer Kerzaya’s case does not excuse his behavior, which was unacceptable and disheartening. We must address the behavior,” Interim Tempe Police Chief Jeff Glover said in the release.
“But we must also take responsibility and make the changes that will help ensure this does not occur again.”
Kerzaya’s immediate supervisor, who was at the hotel when the incident occurred, received a 40-hour unpaid suspension for failing to properly manage the scene.
Cumpian filed a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the city over the incident. The Tempe City Council voted Wednesday to make the $300,000 payment to settle the case.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who also has worked with the family of George Floyd, who died after a Minnesota police held a knee on his neck, and Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back by police in Wisconsin, represented Cumpian.
Crump said during a September press conference that cases such as Cumpian’s
re evidence that “systematic racism and oppression” exists.
“That’s why we’re filing this lawsuit, to take on the entire system,” he said.
The hotel incident occurred about two weeks after new Tempe Mayor Corey Woods announced he was forming a public safety task force aimed at examining and innovating policing in the city.
Kerzaya, who was hired in 2017, was found to have violated several policies during the incident and is serving a two-week unpaid suspension, the city said.
“I understand that my actions have caused a tremendous amount of anguish for many different people, and I cannot convey enough how remorseful I am for my actions and the aftermath that so many people have been forced to deal with and continue to deal with to this day,” Kerzaya wrote in his official response during the discipline process.
Kerzaya recently passed a psychological exam to determine his fitness to return to duty, but he won’t be allowed to resume patrol duties for at least a year,
“My determination of discipline in Officer Kerzaya’s case does not excuse his behavior, which was unacceptable and disheartening. We must address the behavior,” Interim Tempe Police Chief Jeff Glover said in the release.
“But we must also take responsibility and make the changes that will help ensure this does not occur again.”
Kerzaya’s immediate supervisor, who was at the hotel when the incident occurred, received a 40-hour unpaid suspension for failing to properly manage the scene.
Cumpian filed a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the city over the incident. The Tempe City Council voted Wednesday to make the $300,000 payment to settle the case.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who also has worked with the family of George Floyd, who died after a Minnesota police held a knee on his neck, and Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back by police in Wisconsin, represented Cumpian.
Crump said during a September press conference that cases such as Cumpian’s
re evidence that “systematic racism and oppression” exists.
“That’s why we’re filing this lawsuit, to take on the entire system,” he said.
The hotel incident occurred about two weeks after new Tempe Mayor Corey Woods announced he was forming a public safety task force aimed at examining and innovating policing in the city.
The Tempe Citizens’ Panel for Review of Police Complaints and Use of Force will review the hotel incident in January, according to Thursday’s press release.
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California county pays $10M after shooting paralyzed man
SAN FRANCISCO —
A Northern California county has paid nearly $10 million to settle a lawsuit by a Silicon Valley software engineer who was having a mental health crisis two years ago when a deputy shot him, paralyzing him from the waist down.
Placer County paid Samuel Kolb, 50, and his family $9.9 million to settle the lawsuit the family filed after a deputy shot him twice on Jan. 14, 2018, inside a North Lake Tahoe rental cabin where Kolb and his teenage son were vacationing, Kolb said.
“There’s a measure of relief in not having to go through this and not having to put my family through any more legal challenges. But I would trade all the money plus interest to have my old life back, to not have gone through this and put my family through this, to have full use of my body. No amount of money makes up for that,” Kolb said.
“This is a morally bankrupt and corrupt system that is bent on one thing, which is protecting the power of the entrenched police unions and this power structure,” he said.
SAN FRANCISCO —
A Northern California county has paid nearly $10 million to settle a lawsuit by a Silicon Valley software engineer who was having a mental health crisis two years ago when a deputy shot him, paralyzing him from the waist down.
Placer County paid Samuel Kolb, 50, and his family $9.9 million to settle the lawsuit the family filed after a deputy shot him twice on Jan. 14, 2018, inside a North Lake Tahoe rental cabin where Kolb and his teenage son were vacationing, Kolb said.
“There’s a measure of relief in not having to go through this and not having to put my family through any more legal challenges. But I would trade all the money plus interest to have my old life back, to not have gone through this and put my family through this, to have full use of my body. No amount of money makes up for that,” Kolb said.
Kolb and his son had traveled from their home in San Mateo for a ski trip in Lake Tahoe and were staying at a cabin in Carnelian Bay when Kolb woke up before dawn and began pacing around the cabin.
He woke up his then 16-year-old son and asked him to get medical help, Ronald Kaye, the Kolbs’ attorney, said in the federal lawsuit he filed to dismiss Monday. A federal court Tuesday granted the stipulation for dismissal.
Kolb’s son called 911 and reported his father was acting odd and was “in a dream-like state,” according to court documents.
He told the dispatcher his father had a history of temporal lobe epilepsy and that they had smoked marijuana together before going to bed.
Temporal lobe epilepsy can cause people to feel a sudden sense of fear or anxiety, anger or sadness, though a lawsuit filed by Kaye said Kolb had not had a similar incident in about 15 years.
Kolb’s son “did not believe, nor did he represent, that his father presented any danger to his safety — he simply requested medical help as he observed his father suffering from a mental health episode,” Kaye said in court documents.
When Placer County Deputy Curtis Honeycutt arrived, he found Kolb and his son standing outside the cabin in the cold. Kolb was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and pajama bottoms and Honeycutt instructed them to go back inside instead of securing Kolb in the back of the patrol car to await mental health intervention, the lawsuit said.
Once inside, Kolb grabbed a 10-inch (25-centimeter) carving fork. In response to Kolb’s raising the fork, Honeycutt began “repeatedly, unreasonably and unjustifiably discharging his office issued firearm,” shattering one of Kolb’s vertebrae, the lawsuit said.
After the incident, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that Honeycutt believed his life was in danger after Kolb stabbed him with a sharp instrument. A sheriff’s office spokesman later said the deputy was attacked with a large barbecue skewer.
His bulletproof vest protected him from injury but when Kolb tried to stab him a second time, the deputy used his service weapon to end the attack, the department said.
Kolb’s son later testified he never saw his father attack Honeycutt and forensic evidence showed the deputy’s vest had no signs of a stabbing, Kolb said.
Detectives without training on interviewing minors who witnessed traumatic events questioned Kolb’s son without asking for the authorization of his mother, who was driving from Silicon Valley to reunite with him, the lawsuit said.
The detectives also secretly recorded Kolb’s son while he spoke on his cellphone with family members to obtain incriminating information against his father, the lawsuit alleged.
Angela Musallam, a spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, said
Tuesday that the sheriff’s office “does not have anything further to say about Mr. Kolb’s case.”
At the time of the shooting, Kolb was working as a senior director at Survey Monkey. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, which is a felony, and felony child endangerment.
He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of brandishing a deadly weapon other than a firearm “in order to spare my family further legal trouble and
spare my son having to testify and worry that he held my life in his hands,” Kolb said.
Honeycutt shot Kolb once on the left side of his torso and once in his back. Kolb now lacks bowel and bladder control, cannot engage in normal sexual activity and lives with chronic pain.
Now an engineering manager at Facebook, Kolb said he volunteers his free time to press for legislative changes to California’s blanket immunity for police officers and to reform policing in the country.
He woke up his then 16-year-old son and asked him to get medical help, Ronald Kaye, the Kolbs’ attorney, said in the federal lawsuit he filed to dismiss Monday. A federal court Tuesday granted the stipulation for dismissal.
Kolb’s son called 911 and reported his father was acting odd and was “in a dream-like state,” according to court documents.
He told the dispatcher his father had a history of temporal lobe epilepsy and that they had smoked marijuana together before going to bed.
Temporal lobe epilepsy can cause people to feel a sudden sense of fear or anxiety, anger or sadness, though a lawsuit filed by Kaye said Kolb had not had a similar incident in about 15 years.
Kolb’s son “did not believe, nor did he represent, that his father presented any danger to his safety — he simply requested medical help as he observed his father suffering from a mental health episode,” Kaye said in court documents.
When Placer County Deputy Curtis Honeycutt arrived, he found Kolb and his son standing outside the cabin in the cold. Kolb was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and pajama bottoms and Honeycutt instructed them to go back inside instead of securing Kolb in the back of the patrol car to await mental health intervention, the lawsuit said.
Once inside, Kolb grabbed a 10-inch (25-centimeter) carving fork. In response to Kolb’s raising the fork, Honeycutt began “repeatedly, unreasonably and unjustifiably discharging his office issued firearm,” shattering one of Kolb’s vertebrae, the lawsuit said.
After the incident, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that Honeycutt believed his life was in danger after Kolb stabbed him with a sharp instrument. A sheriff’s office spokesman later said the deputy was attacked with a large barbecue skewer.
His bulletproof vest protected him from injury but when Kolb tried to stab him a second time, the deputy used his service weapon to end the attack, the department said.
Kolb’s son later testified he never saw his father attack Honeycutt and forensic evidence showed the deputy’s vest had no signs of a stabbing, Kolb said.
Detectives without training on interviewing minors who witnessed traumatic events questioned Kolb’s son without asking for the authorization of his mother, who was driving from Silicon Valley to reunite with him, the lawsuit said.
The detectives also secretly recorded Kolb’s son while he spoke on his cellphone with family members to obtain incriminating information against his father, the lawsuit alleged.
Angela Musallam, a spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, said
Tuesday that the sheriff’s office “does not have anything further to say about Mr. Kolb’s case.”
At the time of the shooting, Kolb was working as a senior director at Survey Monkey. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, which is a felony, and felony child endangerment.
He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of brandishing a deadly weapon other than a firearm “in order to spare my family further legal trouble and
spare my son having to testify and worry that he held my life in his hands,” Kolb said.
Honeycutt shot Kolb once on the left side of his torso and once in his back. Kolb now lacks bowel and bladder control, cannot engage in normal sexual activity and lives with chronic pain.
Now an engineering manager at Facebook, Kolb said he volunteers his free time to press for legislative changes to California’s blanket immunity for police officers and to reform policing in the country.
“This is a morally bankrupt and corrupt system that is bent on one thing, which is protecting the power of the entrenched police unions and this power structure,” he said.
Pittsburg police agree to $7.3 million settlement with family of man killed by officer’s 50-second carotid hold
Multi-million police lawsuit settlements becoming the norm
PITTSBURG — The city has agreed to pay $7.3 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of a man who was killed after an officer placed him in a carotid hold for 50 seconds, using a controversial technique that has since been widely banned by law enforcement agencies in the wake of the George Floyd killing.
Humberto Martinez Sr., 32, died from having the blood stream to his brain cut off, according to the forensic pathologist who conducted his autopsy. During the 2016 incident, Pittsburg officers chased Martinez through a home on Hillview Drive after he fled during a traffic stop, then struggled to detain him in the kitchen. Video of the incident shows an officer keep his arm around Martinez’s neck for several seconds after Martinez goes unconscious, until another officer tells him to get off.
The settlement marks the third time in recent weeks that a Bay Area police department has agreed to a multimillion dollar lawsuit settlement over a police killing. Last month, Vallejo police agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle a suit by the family of Ronell Foster, who was killed by ex-Vallejo Ofc. Ryan McMahon. Three weeks later, Walnut Creek agreed to pay $4 million to settle a suit by the family of Miles Hall, who was shot and killed by multiple officers after police were called to help Hall during a mental health crisis.
Multi-million police lawsuit settlements becoming the norm
PITTSBURG — The city has agreed to pay $7.3 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of a man who was killed after an officer placed him in a carotid hold for 50 seconds, using a controversial technique that has since been widely banned by law enforcement agencies in the wake of the George Floyd killing.
Humberto Martinez Sr., 32, died from having the blood stream to his brain cut off, according to the forensic pathologist who conducted his autopsy. During the 2016 incident, Pittsburg officers chased Martinez through a home on Hillview Drive after he fled during a traffic stop, then struggled to detain him in the kitchen. Video of the incident shows an officer keep his arm around Martinez’s neck for several seconds after Martinez goes unconscious, until another officer tells him to get off.
“I was 14 when my Dad was killed. I was getting older and needed a father figure. The police should be the people you go to when you feel unsafe,” Martinez’s son, Humbert Martinez Jr., said in a written statement released by his attorney. “It was unreal that they treated my dad like that.”
The multimillion dollar lawsuit settlement is one of the largest — if not the highest — ever paid to settle a police killing lawsuit in California history. It’s also part of a growing trend of huge payouts in police misconduct suits.
The officer who placed Martinez in the carotid hold has been identified as Officer Ernesto Mejia, who later told his colleagues that Martinez was trying to bite, punch, and headbutt him during the struggle. At one point on the video, Mejia says that he put Martinez in a “chokehold,” and an unidentified officer corrects him, saying, “You mean the carotid?”
An autopsy found he’d cut off Martinez’s breathing and fractured cartilage in his throat, causing “extensive hemorrhages.” The autopsy also found methamphetamine in Martinez’s body that the pathologist testified may have played a role in his death.
At the time, carotid holds were an acceptable technique in police departments across the state. They’re intended to briefly cut off blood flow to the brain and render the subject unconscious, but they can often cause the arteries to close and not open up again.
In the wake of the George Floyd killing, police departments across the country — eager to distinguish themselves from the four Minnesota officers charged with murdering Floyd — quickly moved to ban the Carotid hold. The city of Pittsburg was among the first, passing a resolution in early June that banned city police from using the technique.
Pittsburg police did not respond to requests for comment about the settlement. Last year, an investigation by the California Reporting Project found that Pittsburg police never conducted an internal review of the incident to investigate whether Mejia violated department police. A District Attorney investigation cleared him of criminal wrongdoing.
“These Pittsburg officers took Beto Matinez’s life for a simple misdemeanor,” the Martinez family’s attorney, Michael Haddad, said in a news release. “They continued to beat and choke him even when he can be heard on their videos saying, ‘I can’t breathe!’”
In 2017, Bay Area News Group got officer body camera footage of the incident released, via public records act request.
Police said at the time patrol officers were investigating “suspicious narcotics activity” in the area, but that Martinez was pulled over for a traffic infraction. He got out of his car an ran into the Hillview Drive home after the police pulled him over.
In one officer’s body cam, a 1-minute, 44-second video shows an officer chasing Martinez into the garage, stun gun in hand, then following him into the kitchen. The video ends as he begins to employ the carotid hold.
Another video shows more officers rushing into the front door to assist two others attempting to arrest Martinez. When they arrive, Mejia has Martinez in the hold as he lies on the floor, while another officer sits on Martinez’s back. Mejia releases his neck about 50 seconds later, after Martinez is handcuffed and another officer says, “Get off.” The other officer continues to sit on Martinez’s back for another minute.
During the struggle, police are heard yelling “Stop resisting” and “Give me your arm.” Another asks him, “What is your problem, dude?” After Martinez is cuffed, the officer who put him in a neck hold is told to go outside and relax.
As Martinez remains on the floor, an officer pats him on the face and says, “Wake up.” One asks whether Martinez is breathing and another replies, “Yeah, he’s breathing.” About a minute later, they realize he is “going purple” and call for medical help, while removing his handcuffs.
The footage shows several minutes of officers conducting CPR on Martinez, yelling, “Come on, bud,” and telling him to “Breathe” and “Wake up.” Another can be heard saying, “Please, don’t croak.” One says he thinks they’re bringing him back, but Martinez is led out on a stretcher minutes later and a family member can be heard asking if he’s not breathing.
Police say the officers and AMR personnel were able to bring back a pulse but that Martinez died at a hospital later that day. The medical examiner listed cause of death as “probable mechanical obstruction of respiration complicated by carotid sinus reflex stimulation,” due to the carotid hold.
After the incident, an unidentified officer interviews Mejia while another officer who participated in the struggle stands a few feet away.
“He kept on trying to bite me, so I put him in a chokehold,” Mejia says, demonstrating with his arms.
“You mean the carotid?” the unidentified officer says.
“Yeah, the carotid,” Mejia says, adding that Martinez was trying to “punch me and head-butt me” throughout the incident.
A coroner’s inquest jury, which carries no civil or criminal liability, found Martinez’s death to be an accident.
The multimillion dollar lawsuit settlement is one of the largest — if not the highest — ever paid to settle a police killing lawsuit in California history. It’s also part of a growing trend of huge payouts in police misconduct suits.
The officer who placed Martinez in the carotid hold has been identified as Officer Ernesto Mejia, who later told his colleagues that Martinez was trying to bite, punch, and headbutt him during the struggle. At one point on the video, Mejia says that he put Martinez in a “chokehold,” and an unidentified officer corrects him, saying, “You mean the carotid?”
An autopsy found he’d cut off Martinez’s breathing and fractured cartilage in his throat, causing “extensive hemorrhages.” The autopsy also found methamphetamine in Martinez’s body that the pathologist testified may have played a role in his death.
At the time, carotid holds were an acceptable technique in police departments across the state. They’re intended to briefly cut off blood flow to the brain and render the subject unconscious, but they can often cause the arteries to close and not open up again.
In the wake of the George Floyd killing, police departments across the country — eager to distinguish themselves from the four Minnesota officers charged with murdering Floyd — quickly moved to ban the Carotid hold. The city of Pittsburg was among the first, passing a resolution in early June that banned city police from using the technique.
Pittsburg police did not respond to requests for comment about the settlement. Last year, an investigation by the California Reporting Project found that Pittsburg police never conducted an internal review of the incident to investigate whether Mejia violated department police. A District Attorney investigation cleared him of criminal wrongdoing.
“These Pittsburg officers took Beto Matinez’s life for a simple misdemeanor,” the Martinez family’s attorney, Michael Haddad, said in a news release. “They continued to beat and choke him even when he can be heard on their videos saying, ‘I can’t breathe!’”
In 2017, Bay Area News Group got officer body camera footage of the incident released, via public records act request.
Police said at the time patrol officers were investigating “suspicious narcotics activity” in the area, but that Martinez was pulled over for a traffic infraction. He got out of his car an ran into the Hillview Drive home after the police pulled him over.
In one officer’s body cam, a 1-minute, 44-second video shows an officer chasing Martinez into the garage, stun gun in hand, then following him into the kitchen. The video ends as he begins to employ the carotid hold.
Another video shows more officers rushing into the front door to assist two others attempting to arrest Martinez. When they arrive, Mejia has Martinez in the hold as he lies on the floor, while another officer sits on Martinez’s back. Mejia releases his neck about 50 seconds later, after Martinez is handcuffed and another officer says, “Get off.” The other officer continues to sit on Martinez’s back for another minute.
During the struggle, police are heard yelling “Stop resisting” and “Give me your arm.” Another asks him, “What is your problem, dude?” After Martinez is cuffed, the officer who put him in a neck hold is told to go outside and relax.
As Martinez remains on the floor, an officer pats him on the face and says, “Wake up.” One asks whether Martinez is breathing and another replies, “Yeah, he’s breathing.” About a minute later, they realize he is “going purple” and call for medical help, while removing his handcuffs.
The footage shows several minutes of officers conducting CPR on Martinez, yelling, “Come on, bud,” and telling him to “Breathe” and “Wake up.” Another can be heard saying, “Please, don’t croak.” One says he thinks they’re bringing him back, but Martinez is led out on a stretcher minutes later and a family member can be heard asking if he’s not breathing.
Police say the officers and AMR personnel were able to bring back a pulse but that Martinez died at a hospital later that day. The medical examiner listed cause of death as “probable mechanical obstruction of respiration complicated by carotid sinus reflex stimulation,” due to the carotid hold.
After the incident, an unidentified officer interviews Mejia while another officer who participated in the struggle stands a few feet away.
“He kept on trying to bite me, so I put him in a chokehold,” Mejia says, demonstrating with his arms.
“You mean the carotid?” the unidentified officer says.
“Yeah, the carotid,” Mejia says, adding that Martinez was trying to “punch me and head-butt me” throughout the incident.
A coroner’s inquest jury, which carries no civil or criminal liability, found Martinez’s death to be an accident.
The settlement marks the third time in recent weeks that a Bay Area police department has agreed to a multimillion dollar lawsuit settlement over a police killing. Last month, Vallejo police agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle a suit by the family of Ronell Foster, who was killed by ex-Vallejo Ofc. Ryan McMahon. Three weeks later, Walnut Creek agreed to pay $4 million to settle a suit by the family of Miles Hall, who was shot and killed by multiple officers after police were called to help Hall during a mental health crisis.
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I post a few, go outside in the yard or do something else. It's too much to consume on one sitting.
Detroit Police Department Settles Another Dog Shooting Lawsuit After Video Contradicts Cop's Account
A 2016 Reason investigation found Detroit police have a nasty habit of shooting dogs during drug raids.
C.J. CIARAMELLA | 7.31.2020 3:20 PM
The city of Detroit has reportedly paid $75,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit after police shot a woman's dogs during a drug raid—a shooting the Detroit Police Department (DPD) determined was unjustified and violated department policy.
Detroit resident Kira Horne filed the lawsuit last December, alleging that a Detroit police officer, Nathan Miller, violated her civil rights by shooting her dogs without cause during a November 13, 2018, narcotics raid. This, she says, was an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment.
The settlement marks at least the fourth lawsuit payout in recent years stemming from Detroit drug raids where police have been accused of wantonly shooting dogs. A 2016 Reason investigation found that Detroit police officers respond to hundreds of calls a year regarding loose and aggressive dogs, which are a serious problem in the city. But the investigation also revealed a disturbing pattern of officers, especially on the narcotics squad, shooting pets during raids.
"As is typical in these cases, the officer falsely reported that the dogs attacked the police in order to justify the shooting," says Horne's attorney, Chris Olson. "Thus, this case is part of a pattern of Detroit police officers wrongfully shooting dogs and then lying about it. Fortunately, in this case, body camera footage showed the truth."
Warning: The video is graphic.
As regular readers of Reason know, police puppycide is far from limited to Detroit. Nor is Detroit the only city to find that the aftermath of an unjustified dog shooting can be costly. Last year St. Louis paid $775,000 to a woman whose dog was shot during a no-knock SWAT raid over an unpaid gas bill.
The Detroit Police Department and the Detroit Corporation Counsel, which represents the city in civil lawsuits, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A 2016 Reason investigation found Detroit police have a nasty habit of shooting dogs during drug raids.
C.J. CIARAMELLA | 7.31.2020 3:20 PM
The city of Detroit has reportedly paid $75,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit after police shot a woman's dogs during a drug raid—a shooting the Detroit Police Department (DPD) determined was unjustified and violated department policy.
Detroit resident Kira Horne filed the lawsuit last December, alleging that a Detroit police officer, Nathan Miller, violated her civil rights by shooting her dogs without cause during a November 13, 2018, narcotics raid. This, she says, was an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment.
The settlement marks at least the fourth lawsuit payout in recent years stemming from Detroit drug raids where police have been accused of wantonly shooting dogs. A 2016 Reason investigation found that Detroit police officers respond to hundreds of calls a year regarding loose and aggressive dogs, which are a serious problem in the city. But the investigation also revealed a disturbing pattern of officers, especially on the narcotics squad, shooting pets during raids.
In most of those cases, there has been no video of the incidents, leading to dueling he said/she said claims between pet owners and police. But this time, body camera footage showed exactly what happened."As is typical in these cases, the officer falsely reported that the dogs attacked the police in order to justify the shooting," says Horne's attorney, Chris Olson. "Thus, this case is part of a pattern of Detroit police officers wrongfully shooting dogs and then lying about it. Fortunately, in this case, body camera footage showed the truth."
Warning: The video is graphic.
The body camera footage shows several members of the Detroit Police Department's Gang Intelligence unit executing a narcotics search warrant. As Miller enters a hallway while clearing the house, a black pit bull comes out of a room and advances toward Miller before he fires his shotgun at it, mortally wounding the animal. But the dog was neither growling nor barking.
A second pit bull enters the hallway. Miller yells at it, and the dog runs back into another room before emerging again and standing next to the corpse of the first dog. It is not barking, growling, or moving toward Miller when he fires at it.
"It's a fuckin' homicide scene," one of the other Detroit police officers remarks as he surveys the bloody aftermath.
The raid resulted in the arrest of one man for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
In a "destruction of animal" report that Miller filed after the raid, obtained by Reason through a public records request, the officer claimed that he "observed a black pit bull and a tan pit bull showing his teeth, charging, and attempting to bite crew." In a separate incident report, Miller embellished a little more, writing that "a large black pitfall came charging at me down the hallway from the northwest bedroom. I fired two shots…neutralizing the threat. While still in the hallway, a second brown pit bull came charging down the hallway towards me."
Miller's supervising officers, all the way up the chain of command, signed off on the shooting and found that he followed department policy. But after Horne and the arrested man filed a complaint, the Detroit Police Department's Citizen Complaint Subcommittee investigated the incident. After reviewing Miller's body cam footage, it found that the video "did not show the dogs acting in an aggressive manner."
"At no time did any of the dogs charge at the officers, growl or try to bite them," the subcommittee wrote in its report. In a rare occurrence, the police department declared that the shooting was unjustified and violated the department's policies regarding dogs.
Olson has represented several other Detroit residents who have sued the police after their dogs were shot. Detroit resident Teresa Thomas filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last year alleging that two Detroit police officers illegally pulled open her door during a warrantless search and then shot her two dogs after they ran outside, killing one of them.
Last year, Detroit agreed to pay $60,000 in another dog shooting lawsuit. That suit was brought by Nikita Smith, whose three dogs were shot by a Detroit narcotics unit during a marijuana raid in 2016.
In 2018, Detroit paid $225,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Kenneth Savage and Ashley Franklin, who claimed Detroit police officers shot their three dogs while the animals were enclosed behind an 8-foot-tall fence—all so the officers could confiscate several potted marijuana plants in their backyard.
In 2015, the city approved a $100,000 settlement to a man after police shot his dog while it was securely chained to a fence.
Destruction-of-animal reports obtained by Reason show that one officer on a Detroit Police Department unit that conducted drug raids throughout the city had shot 80 dogs over the course of his career.
A second pit bull enters the hallway. Miller yells at it, and the dog runs back into another room before emerging again and standing next to the corpse of the first dog. It is not barking, growling, or moving toward Miller when he fires at it.
"It's a fuckin' homicide scene," one of the other Detroit police officers remarks as he surveys the bloody aftermath.
The raid resulted in the arrest of one man for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
In a "destruction of animal" report that Miller filed after the raid, obtained by Reason through a public records request, the officer claimed that he "observed a black pit bull and a tan pit bull showing his teeth, charging, and attempting to bite crew." In a separate incident report, Miller embellished a little more, writing that "a large black pitfall came charging at me down the hallway from the northwest bedroom. I fired two shots…neutralizing the threat. While still in the hallway, a second brown pit bull came charging down the hallway towards me."
Miller's supervising officers, all the way up the chain of command, signed off on the shooting and found that he followed department policy. But after Horne and the arrested man filed a complaint, the Detroit Police Department's Citizen Complaint Subcommittee investigated the incident. After reviewing Miller's body cam footage, it found that the video "did not show the dogs acting in an aggressive manner."
"At no time did any of the dogs charge at the officers, growl or try to bite them," the subcommittee wrote in its report. In a rare occurrence, the police department declared that the shooting was unjustified and violated the department's policies regarding dogs.
Olson has represented several other Detroit residents who have sued the police after their dogs were shot. Detroit resident Teresa Thomas filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last year alleging that two Detroit police officers illegally pulled open her door during a warrantless search and then shot her two dogs after they ran outside, killing one of them.
Last year, Detroit agreed to pay $60,000 in another dog shooting lawsuit. That suit was brought by Nikita Smith, whose three dogs were shot by a Detroit narcotics unit during a marijuana raid in 2016.
In 2018, Detroit paid $225,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Kenneth Savage and Ashley Franklin, who claimed Detroit police officers shot their three dogs while the animals were enclosed behind an 8-foot-tall fence—all so the officers could confiscate several potted marijuana plants in their backyard.
In 2015, the city approved a $100,000 settlement to a man after police shot his dog while it was securely chained to a fence.
Destruction-of-animal reports obtained by Reason show that one officer on a Detroit Police Department unit that conducted drug raids throughout the city had shot 80 dogs over the course of his career.
"We will continue to seek justice for dog owners in Detroit," Olson says, "who suffer more shootings than anywhere else in the country, and to expose police officers lying about their unconstitutional conduct."As regular readers of Reason know, police puppycide is far from limited to Detroit. Nor is Detroit the only city to find that the aftermath of an unjustified dog shooting can be costly. Last year St. Louis paid $775,000 to a woman whose dog was shot during a no-knock SWAT raid over an unpaid gas bill.
The Detroit Police Department and the Detroit Corporation Counsel, which represents the city in civil lawsuits, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
State Police pay $635K to settle two lawsuits
DECEMBER 06, 2020
Both plaintiffs in the case used the same attorneys, Dorie Biagianti Smith and Jamison Barkley, who share a law office in Santa Fe.
As for the officers, Delgado retired from State Police, then served a brief stint as police chief in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Smith remains a State Police officer, according to Barkley.
DECEMBER 06, 2020
Both plaintiffs in the case used the same attorneys, Dorie Biagianti Smith and Jamison Barkley, who share a law office in Santa Fe.
Biagianti Smith said the settlements ought to be a lesson to law enforcement that the civil rights of suspects need to be respected.
She said she hopes State Police gets the message and takes action to provide the necessary training to officers about dealing with people with mental health issues and disabilities, and not just assume wrongdoing without reasonable suspicion.
Jail cell beating
In May 2019, Ryan Cordova was arrested for drunken driving by State Police officer Peter Romero after crashing his car into another vehicle on San Francisco Street in front of the downtown Plaza.
Cordova was taken to the Santa Fe County jail where Romero handcuffed him to a rail in a holding cell and beat him, slamming his head against a wall, kicking him and fracturing his wrist, according to his lawsuit filed in February.
While there were no direct witnesses, the incident was captured on jail security footage.
The DWI charge against Cordova was dismissed in October last year, but he filed a lawsuit against State Police and Romero, alleging assault and battery, and violation of his constitutional rights. Attorney Barkley said that if Romero were an average citizen, he probably would have been charged with assault for the beating he gave Cordova. But it’s the qualified immunity that protected him from prosecution.
Cordova doesn’t have any lasting injuries from the beating, she said, and he’s happy with the settlement because Romero is no longer with the State Police, or in law enforcement.
Episode on the roadside
Jessica Guttman just wanted to watch the horses; she’s always admired them. But instead of a peaceful outing with her two friends, she had a traumatic experience that still haunts her four years later.
As she was standing in a public right-of-way Sept. 20, 2016, on N.M. 14, near the state prison, State Police officer Kevin Smith pulled up with emergency lights flashing to find out what she was doing.
Taken aback by his aggression toward her, Guttman at first declined to identify herself and, before she knew it, she was on the ground being handcuffed.
According to her lawsuit, due to a traumatic brain injury she had suffered as a child, Guttman began to have seizures. For 30 minutes, she remained cuffed on the ground while her two friends pleaded with Smith and, later, with his supervisor, Sgt. Jerry Delgado, who arrived on the scene during the incident, to release their friend, explaining she had a medical condition that left her disabled.
Her friends captured part of the encounter on cellphone video.
Guttman, who was also represented by an attorney from Disability Rights New Mexico, filed a lawsuit against the State Police and the two officers in 2018.
Through her attorneys, Guttman told the Journal she was so frightened after the incident she wore her riding spurs for months. She said she hopes law enforcement officers get the training they need to learn how to interact with disabled people.
She said she hopes State Police gets the message and takes action to provide the necessary training to officers about dealing with people with mental health issues and disabilities, and not just assume wrongdoing without reasonable suspicion.
Jail cell beating
In May 2019, Ryan Cordova was arrested for drunken driving by State Police officer Peter Romero after crashing his car into another vehicle on San Francisco Street in front of the downtown Plaza.
Cordova was taken to the Santa Fe County jail where Romero handcuffed him to a rail in a holding cell and beat him, slamming his head against a wall, kicking him and fracturing his wrist, according to his lawsuit filed in February.
While there were no direct witnesses, the incident was captured on jail security footage.
The DWI charge against Cordova was dismissed in October last year, but he filed a lawsuit against State Police and Romero, alleging assault and battery, and violation of his constitutional rights. Attorney Barkley said that if Romero were an average citizen, he probably would have been charged with assault for the beating he gave Cordova. But it’s the qualified immunity that protected him from prosecution.
Cordova doesn’t have any lasting injuries from the beating, she said, and he’s happy with the settlement because Romero is no longer with the State Police, or in law enforcement.
Episode on the roadside
Jessica Guttman just wanted to watch the horses; she’s always admired them. But instead of a peaceful outing with her two friends, she had a traumatic experience that still haunts her four years later.
As she was standing in a public right-of-way Sept. 20, 2016, on N.M. 14, near the state prison, State Police officer Kevin Smith pulled up with emergency lights flashing to find out what she was doing.
Taken aback by his aggression toward her, Guttman at first declined to identify herself and, before she knew it, she was on the ground being handcuffed.
According to her lawsuit, due to a traumatic brain injury she had suffered as a child, Guttman began to have seizures. For 30 minutes, she remained cuffed on the ground while her two friends pleaded with Smith and, later, with his supervisor, Sgt. Jerry Delgado, who arrived on the scene during the incident, to release their friend, explaining she had a medical condition that left her disabled.
Her friends captured part of the encounter on cellphone video.
Guttman, who was also represented by an attorney from Disability Rights New Mexico, filed a lawsuit against the State Police and the two officers in 2018.
Through her attorneys, Guttman told the Journal she was so frightened after the incident she wore her riding spurs for months. She said she hopes law enforcement officers get the training they need to learn how to interact with disabled people.
As for the officers, Delgado retired from State Police, then served a brief stint as police chief in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Smith remains a State Police officer, according to Barkley.
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$1.025 Million Settlement Approved for Family of Woman Murdered by Columbus Police Officer
City Council approved a one time payment of $1.025 million in a wrongful death lawsuit of Donna Castleberry. Castleberry was shot and killed on August 23, 2018 by former Columbus Police officer Andrew Mitchell. At the time, Mitchell was apart of a Vice unit that had a myriad of questionable actions. This settlement is in response to a $3.5 million lawsuit that Casteberry’s family filed in 2019.
Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to the state and federal charges and still awaiting trials.
City Council approved a one time payment of $1.025 million in a wrongful death lawsuit of Donna Castleberry. Castleberry was shot and killed on August 23, 2018 by former Columbus Police officer Andrew Mitchell. At the time, Mitchell was apart of a Vice unit that had a myriad of questionable actions. This settlement is in response to a $3.5 million lawsuit that Casteberry’s family filed in 2019.
Mitchell, a 30 year police veteran, alleges that he was performing an undercover prostitution sting during his altercation with Castleberry. After picking up Castelberry, Mitchell drove her where her passenger side door was blocked by a brick wall. She was trapped inside the car. During this interaction, Casteberry pulled a knife on Mitchell, striking him in the hand. She then fled to the backseat of the unmarked car they were in. She attempted to open the backseat and flea, but due to the vehicle’s child safety features, she was trapped. Mitchell, drew his firearm and fired 6 shots at Castleberry, striking her 3 times. Some of the shots Mitchell fired came as he was outside of the car, but continued to fire on Castelberry.
The lawsuit states that Donna did not believe Mitchell was a police officer and feared for her life. “Andrew Mitchell did not have his CPD issued walkie with him. Upon information and belief, CPD regulations require an undercover and/or plainclothes officers acting in a covert capacity to carry their walkie at all times for officer safety and to talk with back up. Mitchell was working without backup at the time he was engaged with Donna. Upon information and belief, Donna who was aware that a law enforcement officer should have his badge, ID and walkie with him while working undercover expressed and/or held the good faith honest and reasonable belief that she was being kidnapped and would be raped rather than be arrested because she did not believe that Mitchell was a police officer.”
At the time of the shooting, Mitchell did not have his badge on him. If that is not a red flag in Mitchell’s conduct, some of his other allegations might be. Castleberry’s family also state that Mitchell should not have been on police duty that day because he was already the focus of a separate criminal probe by his own
department for allegedly abusing his police powers. He was already facing federal charges for allegedly coercing women into sexual acts under the threat of arrest.
Are Columbus Police officers abusing their power against sex workers in the city? Earlier last week, Officer Randall Mayhew was fully reinstated after being previously being fired for inappropriate dealings with sex workers while on duty. Among Mitchell’s allegations of coercing women into sex, some of the women he was investigating, while others were those who he rented apartments. In addition to Mitchell’s allegations, his entire former vice unit was under fire for questionable behavior. Following the controversial arrest of adult film star Stormy Daniels that lead to a $450,000 settlement, Mitchell, along with two other vice officers, Steve Rosser and Whitney Lancaster, were removed of duties. Mitchell resigned from the department in March. Rosser and Lancaster could still face discipline for concerns over their investigations inside Columbus strip clubs. Their supervisors could also face discipline.
The entire vice unit was dismantled in the spring of 2019 under former Police Chief Kim Jacobs.
In an audio recording of the altercation between him and Castelberry, she can be heard stating that she had heard about him and he was kidnapping women. It was at that point that Mitchell lost his temper, and the audio shows he began cursing at Castleberry. He attempted to handcuff her while she screamed and tried to call for help.
Mitchell also faces witness tampering and other charges involving pressuring others to help cover up crimes and lying to investigators when he said he’d never had sex with prostitutes. All of these issues gave the family of Castleberry plenty of reason to ask why was Mitchell even on duty to perform this alleged badge-less sting operation?
The lawsuit states that Donna did not believe Mitchell was a police officer and feared for her life. “Andrew Mitchell did not have his CPD issued walkie with him. Upon information and belief, CPD regulations require an undercover and/or plainclothes officers acting in a covert capacity to carry their walkie at all times for officer safety and to talk with back up. Mitchell was working without backup at the time he was engaged with Donna. Upon information and belief, Donna who was aware that a law enforcement officer should have his badge, ID and walkie with him while working undercover expressed and/or held the good faith honest and reasonable belief that she was being kidnapped and would be raped rather than be arrested because she did not believe that Mitchell was a police officer.”
At the time of the shooting, Mitchell did not have his badge on him. If that is not a red flag in Mitchell’s conduct, some of his other allegations might be. Castleberry’s family also state that Mitchell should not have been on police duty that day because he was already the focus of a separate criminal probe by his own
department for allegedly abusing his police powers. He was already facing federal charges for allegedly coercing women into sexual acts under the threat of arrest.
Are Columbus Police officers abusing their power against sex workers in the city? Earlier last week, Officer Randall Mayhew was fully reinstated after being previously being fired for inappropriate dealings with sex workers while on duty. Among Mitchell’s allegations of coercing women into sex, some of the women he was investigating, while others were those who he rented apartments. In addition to Mitchell’s allegations, his entire former vice unit was under fire for questionable behavior. Following the controversial arrest of adult film star Stormy Daniels that lead to a $450,000 settlement, Mitchell, along with two other vice officers, Steve Rosser and Whitney Lancaster, were removed of duties. Mitchell resigned from the department in March. Rosser and Lancaster could still face discipline for concerns over their investigations inside Columbus strip clubs. Their supervisors could also face discipline.
The entire vice unit was dismantled in the spring of 2019 under former Police Chief Kim Jacobs.
In an audio recording of the altercation between him and Castelberry, she can be heard stating that she had heard about him and he was kidnapping women. It was at that point that Mitchell lost his temper, and the audio shows he began cursing at Castleberry. He attempted to handcuff her while she screamed and tried to call for help.
Mitchell also faces witness tampering and other charges involving pressuring others to help cover up crimes and lying to investigators when he said he’d never had sex with prostitutes. All of these issues gave the family of Castleberry plenty of reason to ask why was Mitchell even on duty to perform this alleged badge-less sting operation?
Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to the state and federal charges and still awaiting trials.
Sacramento pays $15k settlement to man tackled by officer for leaving car idle
Craig Williams said he did not know he was breaking the law when he left his car running as he ran into a 7-Eleven to buy something on May 4, 2018.
Craig Williams said he did not know he was breaking the law when he left his car running as he ran into a 7-Eleven to buy something on May 4, 2018.
SACRAMENTO, Calif — The city of Sacramento paid a man $15,000 in a settlement two years after a police officer tackled the man for leaving his car idle in a 7-Eleven parking lot, according to documents.
The settlement, which was first reported by The Sacramento Bee and later confirmed by ABC10, was signed by the officer involved, Corey Johnson, in February 2020.
On May 4, 2018, Sacramento Police Officer Corey Johnson tackled Craig Williams to the ground while he left his car running outside of a 7-Eleven in South Land Park.
Williams said he left his car running in the parking lot as he ran inside to buy something saying that he did not know it was against the law to leave his car idle. In body camera footage later released by Sacramento Police Department, Williams can be heard arguing with Johnson that leaving his vehicle on unattended was is not against the law.
In California, leaving a car running can result in fines or and arrest.
A Sacramento Police officer confronted Williams about leaving the car on. The officer could be heard through his body camera, telling Williams, "I'm going to throw you on the ground here in a second," before following through with his threat.
The confrontation took place two months after two Sacramento police officers shot and killed 22-year-old Stephon Clark in his grandmother's backyard, after a chase that police suspected Clark of damaging cars in the neighborhood. Officers claimed they believed Clark was holding a gun, but it was a cell phone.
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert dropped charges against Williams. Williams filed a lawsuit against the Sacramento Police Department on May 3, 2018.
Williams' lawsuit claimed he, a Black man, was targetted by the Johnson, a white man, and that it played a role in his arrest. Williams said the city and the Sacramento Police officer violated a mixture of 10 different federal, state laws, including William's civil rights. Williams is a victim of excessive force, denial of medical care, and unreasonable search and seizure, according to the lawsuit.
The settlement, which was first reported by The Sacramento Bee and later confirmed by ABC10, was signed by the officer involved, Corey Johnson, in February 2020.
On May 4, 2018, Sacramento Police Officer Corey Johnson tackled Craig Williams to the ground while he left his car running outside of a 7-Eleven in South Land Park.
Williams said he left his car running in the parking lot as he ran inside to buy something saying that he did not know it was against the law to leave his car idle. In body camera footage later released by Sacramento Police Department, Williams can be heard arguing with Johnson that leaving his vehicle on unattended was is not against the law.
In California, leaving a car running can result in fines or and arrest.
A Sacramento Police officer confronted Williams about leaving the car on. The officer could be heard through his body camera, telling Williams, "I'm going to throw you on the ground here in a second," before following through with his threat.
The confrontation took place two months after two Sacramento police officers shot and killed 22-year-old Stephon Clark in his grandmother's backyard, after a chase that police suspected Clark of damaging cars in the neighborhood. Officers claimed they believed Clark was holding a gun, but it was a cell phone.
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert dropped charges against Williams. Williams filed a lawsuit against the Sacramento Police Department on May 3, 2018.
Williams' lawsuit claimed he, a Black man, was targetted by the Johnson, a white man, and that it played a role in his arrest. Williams said the city and the Sacramento Police officer violated a mixture of 10 different federal, state laws, including William's civil rights. Williams is a victim of excessive force, denial of medical care, and unreasonable search and seizure, according to the lawsuit.
$99,000 settlement reached in police shooting involving dog outside Sacramento Safeway
Despite Sacramento police officials claiming the dog bit the officer, body cam video suggested otherwise.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento officials have agreed to pay $99,000 to the owner of a dog that was shot at by Sacramento police officers.
The owner of the dog sued the city of Sacramento and Sacramento Police Department for damages on March 2, 2020. The lawsuit was filed by Sacramento civil rights lawyer Mark Merin on behalf of Kevin Cole, who claims he was falsely arrested after his dog, Nikki, was shot during the incident outside of the Midtown Safeway on 19th and S streets.
Related Update
Despite Sacramento police officials claiming the dog bit the officer, body cam video suggested otherwise.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento officials have agreed to pay $99,000 to the owner of a dog that was shot at by Sacramento police officers.
The owner of the dog sued the city of Sacramento and Sacramento Police Department for damages on March 2, 2020. The lawsuit was filed by Sacramento civil rights lawyer Mark Merin on behalf of Kevin Cole, who claims he was falsely arrested after his dog, Nikki, was shot during the incident outside of the Midtown Safeway on 19th and S streets.
Video of the incident released by the department showed some of what happened outside of the Safeway.
The video shows that officers told Cole several times to leave the property, but when Cole didn't comply, an officer attempted to arrest him. During the arrest, Nikki the dog can be seen lunging at a responding officer.
“The dog had its mouth around my hand, but there is nothing there,” the unnamed officer can be heard saying in the video. “It didn’t like actually bite me. It was snarling and growling and snipping. I have no idea why it didn’t bite me.”
Despite Sacramento police officials claiming the dog bit the officer, the officer in the video seems to say otherwise. In addition to Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn, officers Justin Shepard and George Martinez are also named in the complaint, but it is unclear which officer actually fired shots.
"You don't just get to shoot a person's dog and the person himself unless they pose serious danger or threat to life," said Mark Merin, civil rights attorney.
According to court documents, the complaint alleges that police officers falsely arrested him and recklessly discharged their firearm. Nikki, Cole, and a security guard were injured by shrapnel from the bullet that the officer fired. Both Cole and the security guard were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Nikki was taken to a Sacramento animal shelter with a minor injury to her paw and she survived.
Merin called the incident an "outrageous excessive use of force."
The case was ultimately settled with the city for $99,000.
The video shows that officers told Cole several times to leave the property, but when Cole didn't comply, an officer attempted to arrest him. During the arrest, Nikki the dog can be seen lunging at a responding officer.
“The dog had its mouth around my hand, but there is nothing there,” the unnamed officer can be heard saying in the video. “It didn’t like actually bite me. It was snarling and growling and snipping. I have no idea why it didn’t bite me.”
Despite Sacramento police officials claiming the dog bit the officer, the officer in the video seems to say otherwise. In addition to Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn, officers Justin Shepard and George Martinez are also named in the complaint, but it is unclear which officer actually fired shots.
"You don't just get to shoot a person's dog and the person himself unless they pose serious danger or threat to life," said Mark Merin, civil rights attorney.
According to court documents, the complaint alleges that police officers falsely arrested him and recklessly discharged their firearm. Nikki, Cole, and a security guard were injured by shrapnel from the bullet that the officer fired. Both Cole and the security guard were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Nikki was taken to a Sacramento animal shelter with a minor injury to her paw and she survived.
Merin called the incident an "outrageous excessive use of force."
The case was ultimately settled with the city for $99,000.
Related Update
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Northern California City Settles for $3.25M in Police Killing
Mar 19, 2021
A Northern California city has agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a lawsuit by the daughters of an unarmed Black man killed by police in 2016, the family’s attorneys said.
The federal wrongful death lawsuit they filed says Stockton Police Officer David Wells mistook Colby Friday for another Black man who was being sought in a domestic violence investigation.
That suspect was described as a Black male, about 6 feet tall with hair in cornrows. The attorneys said Friday was Black man with his hair in cornrows, but wasn’t the suspect and was not wanted for any reason by police.
When Friday left the scene, a witness said he heard Wells say he would shoot him in the back if he didn’t stop, said civil rights attorneys Mark Merin of Sacramento and Yolanda Huang of Oakland.
They said Wells then opened fire, killing Friday with multiple gunshots, though the district attorney declined to prosecute and he remains a Stockton police officer.
City Attorney John Luebberke said through a spokeswoman that “we are not able to comment at this time.”
The killing “will forever haunt Colby’s children,” the family said in a statement criticizing officials and calling for reforms. “Colby’s girls will never get to say, ‘Hi dad.'”
Mar 19, 2021
A Northern California city has agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a lawsuit by the daughters of an unarmed Black man killed by police in 2016, the family’s attorneys said.
The federal wrongful death lawsuit they filed says Stockton Police Officer David Wells mistook Colby Friday for another Black man who was being sought in a domestic violence investigation.
That suspect was described as a Black male, about 6 feet tall with hair in cornrows. The attorneys said Friday was Black man with his hair in cornrows, but wasn’t the suspect and was not wanted for any reason by police.
When Friday left the scene, a witness said he heard Wells say he would shoot him in the back if he didn’t stop, said civil rights attorneys Mark Merin of Sacramento and Yolanda Huang of Oakland.
They said Wells then opened fire, killing Friday with multiple gunshots, though the district attorney declined to prosecute and he remains a Stockton police officer.
City Attorney John Luebberke said through a spokeswoman that “we are not able to comment at this time.”
The killing “will forever haunt Colby’s children,” the family said in a statement criticizing officials and calling for reforms. “Colby’s girls will never get to say, ‘Hi dad.'”
Nashville OKs $2.25M settlement in fatal shooting by officer
March 17, 2021
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Officials in Tennessee have agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer from behind during a 2018 foot chase.
Vice Mayor Jim Shulman said the settlement is a step toward closure after a painful time in the city’s history.
March 17, 2021
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Officials in Tennessee have agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer from behind during a 2018 foot chase.
The Nashville Metro Council approved the record civil settlement Tuesday without discussion in the fatal shooting of Daniel Hambrick, 25, by Officer Andrew Delke, news outlets reported.
In a statement on behalf of Hambrick’s family, attorneys Joy Kimbrough and Kyle Mothershead expressed disappointment with the amount, but said they appreciated the city has taken at least “modest accountability” in his death.
Delke’s defense attorney, David Raybin, said the civil settlement would have no effect on the criminal case against the officer, who remains charged with first-degree murder in the July 2018 shooting and is slated for a July trial.
The city says it and Delke, 27, aren’t admitting wrongdoing or liability with the settlement.
Delke’s attorney has said the officer acted in line with his training and Tennessee law in response to “an armed suspect who ignored repeated orders to drop his gun.” District Attorney Glenn Funk has argued Delke had other alternatives, adding that the officer could have stopped, sought cover and called for help.
In a statement on behalf of Hambrick’s family, attorneys Joy Kimbrough and Kyle Mothershead expressed disappointment with the amount, but said they appreciated the city has taken at least “modest accountability” in his death.
Delke’s defense attorney, David Raybin, said the civil settlement would have no effect on the criminal case against the officer, who remains charged with first-degree murder in the July 2018 shooting and is slated for a July trial.
The city says it and Delke, 27, aren’t admitting wrongdoing or liability with the settlement.
Delke’s attorney has said the officer acted in line with his training and Tennessee law in response to “an armed suspect who ignored repeated orders to drop his gun.” District Attorney Glenn Funk has argued Delke had other alternatives, adding that the officer could have stopped, sought cover and called for help.
Vice Mayor Jim Shulman said the settlement is a step toward closure after a painful time in the city’s history.
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Man Shot by Memphis Police Settles Lawsuit Against City
A man who survived a shooting by police after a fleeing a traffic stop has settled his lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Tennessee.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Jan. 21, 2021, at 4:28 a.m.
MEMPHIS, TENN. (AP) — A man who survived a shooting by police after a fleeing a traffic stop has settled his lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Tennessee.
Martavious Banks will receive a $200,000 settlement after a voluntary agreement between him and the city was filed in federal court, The Commercial Appeal reported. The original lawsuit had sought $10 million in damages.
Banks ran from a police traffic stop and was shot by a Memphis police officer in September 2018. Banks was critically wounded and spent weeks in intensive care at a hospital.
Banks sued a year after the shooting, after an investigation showed officers did not have their body cameras activated as required by department policy.
Three officers involved in the shooting were not charged, though one did resign. Banks was charged with evading arrest and unlawful weapons possession. He was released from jail after pleading guilty.
A man who survived a shooting by police after a fleeing a traffic stop has settled his lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Tennessee.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content Jan. 21, 2021, at 4:28 a.m.
MEMPHIS, TENN. (AP) — A man who survived a shooting by police after a fleeing a traffic stop has settled his lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Tennessee.
Martavious Banks will receive a $200,000 settlement after a voluntary agreement between him and the city was filed in federal court, The Commercial Appeal reported. The original lawsuit had sought $10 million in damages.
Banks ran from a police traffic stop and was shot by a Memphis police officer in September 2018. Banks was critically wounded and spent weeks in intensive care at a hospital.
Banks sued a year after the shooting, after an investigation showed officers did not have their body cameras activated as required by department policy.
Three officers involved in the shooting were not charged, though one did resign. Banks was charged with evading arrest and unlawful weapons possession. He was released from jail after pleading guilty.
City reaches $150K settlement with man who said KPD officer broke his arm
Raymond Taylor's lawyer had just filed a lawsuit against the city in May. The city admits no wrongdoing by KPD officers.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Moving with unusual speed, the city of Knoxville has settled for $150,000 a federal lawsuit with a 60-year-old man who says a police officer body-slammed him and broke his arm during a May 2019 stop.
The city and Raymond A. Taylor Jr., 60, reached the agreement June 3, records show. Taylor's lawyer, Lance Baker, had only filed the complaint in May in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.
Raymond Taylor's lawyer had just filed a lawsuit against the city in May. The city admits no wrongdoing by KPD officers.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Moving with unusual speed, the city of Knoxville has settled for $150,000 a federal lawsuit with a 60-year-old man who says a police officer body-slammed him and broke his arm during a May 2019 stop.
The city and Raymond A. Taylor Jr., 60, reached the agreement June 3, records show. Taylor's lawyer, Lance Baker, had only filed the complaint in May in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.
Such lawsuits usually take years to resolve. Baker filed formal dismissal of the federal lawsuit June 25.
The city admits no wrongdoing on the part of officers Christopher Brooks, Gordon Johnson, Jason Kalmanek, Capt. Tony Willis and former personnel Lt. Travis Brasfield and Sgt. Bobby Maxwell, both of whom abruptly retired in summer 2019 amid a whistle-blowing scandal.
Baker told 10News his client was "pleased with the result" and ready to move on to a new life outside Tennessee.
First, however, Taylor must resolve his criminal charges. The case has been languishing in Knox County General Sessions Court a year.
Taylor faces charges that include DUI first offense, resisting arrest, speeding and having an open container. July 20, the day before his 61st birthday, is his next court date, but it may be continued.
Megan Newman with the Knox County District Public Defender's Office represents him.
'I broke his arm'
Taylor was driving his beat-up pickup the night of May 3, 2019, when he passed by some KPD officers, according to the lawsuit. One, Brooks, decided to pull him over, allegedly for speeding.
Taylor's attorneys say the traffic stop wasn't legitimate to begin with and that their client wasn't speeding.
Brooks asked if Taylor had any weapons and Taylor responded by handing over a sheathed knife, handle first, according to the complaint.
Brooks drew his service weapon, aimed it at Taylor's head and ordered him out of the truck, the complaint states. He threw the knife to the ground.
A motorcycle crash had permanently damaged Taylor's right arm and shoulder. He had no use of the "mangled" arm, according to the lawsuit.
The 6-foot, 4-inch "handicapped" man slowly tried to get out of the truck, according to the complaint.
Brooks grabbed his arms and cuffed him. Taylor cried out in pain and explained he had a previous injury. According to the complaint, Brooks continued to jerk and pull on his arm, despite Taylor's protests.
At one point, Taylor said, "I'm a cripple, ----------!"
Brooks slammed him to the ground face-first, the lawsuit states.
The officer's repeated jerking of Taylor's upper right arm resulted in it breaking, according to the lawsuit.
Taylor alleges Brooks can be heard on a video in-car recording of the call telling another arriving officer: "I broke his arm. I'm pretty sure it's broke."
At University of Tennessee Medical Center, Brooks underwent surgery for the broken arm. He eventually left the hospital with $58,000 in medical bills, according to the complaint.
Besides Brooks, Johnson and Kalmanek, Taylor sued several veteran members of the force who -- coincidentally -- became embroiled in controversy over Maxwell's vulgar remarks during a spring 2019 roll call.
Brasfield blew the whistle on Maxwell's conduct, which a patrol officer secretly recorded with a
smartphone. Brasfield and Maxwell soon quit the department.
Maxwell, Brasfield and Willis were part of the chain of command that looked into whether Brooks used excessive force in breaking Taylor's arm. The lawsuit states Willis deemed Brooks' conduct to be "minimal and appropriate."
Willis remains with KPD. In the fallout from the whistle-blowing incident, he was given to reprimands.
The city admits no wrongdoing on the part of officers Christopher Brooks, Gordon Johnson, Jason Kalmanek, Capt. Tony Willis and former personnel Lt. Travis Brasfield and Sgt. Bobby Maxwell, both of whom abruptly retired in summer 2019 amid a whistle-blowing scandal.
Baker told 10News his client was "pleased with the result" and ready to move on to a new life outside Tennessee.
First, however, Taylor must resolve his criminal charges. The case has been languishing in Knox County General Sessions Court a year.
Taylor faces charges that include DUI first offense, resisting arrest, speeding and having an open container. July 20, the day before his 61st birthday, is his next court date, but it may be continued.
Megan Newman with the Knox County District Public Defender's Office represents him.
'I broke his arm'
Taylor was driving his beat-up pickup the night of May 3, 2019, when he passed by some KPD officers, according to the lawsuit. One, Brooks, decided to pull him over, allegedly for speeding.
Taylor's attorneys say the traffic stop wasn't legitimate to begin with and that their client wasn't speeding.
Brooks asked if Taylor had any weapons and Taylor responded by handing over a sheathed knife, handle first, according to the complaint.
Brooks drew his service weapon, aimed it at Taylor's head and ordered him out of the truck, the complaint states. He threw the knife to the ground.
A motorcycle crash had permanently damaged Taylor's right arm and shoulder. He had no use of the "mangled" arm, according to the lawsuit.
The 6-foot, 4-inch "handicapped" man slowly tried to get out of the truck, according to the complaint.
Brooks grabbed his arms and cuffed him. Taylor cried out in pain and explained he had a previous injury. According to the complaint, Brooks continued to jerk and pull on his arm, despite Taylor's protests.
At one point, Taylor said, "I'm a cripple, ----------!"
Brooks slammed him to the ground face-first, the lawsuit states.
The officer's repeated jerking of Taylor's upper right arm resulted in it breaking, according to the lawsuit.
Taylor alleges Brooks can be heard on a video in-car recording of the call telling another arriving officer: "I broke his arm. I'm pretty sure it's broke."
At University of Tennessee Medical Center, Brooks underwent surgery for the broken arm. He eventually left the hospital with $58,000 in medical bills, according to the complaint.
Besides Brooks, Johnson and Kalmanek, Taylor sued several veteran members of the force who -- coincidentally -- became embroiled in controversy over Maxwell's vulgar remarks during a spring 2019 roll call.
Brasfield blew the whistle on Maxwell's conduct, which a patrol officer secretly recorded with a
smartphone. Brasfield and Maxwell soon quit the department.
Maxwell, Brasfield and Willis were part of the chain of command that looked into whether Brooks used excessive force in breaking Taylor's arm. The lawsuit states Willis deemed Brooks' conduct to be "minimal and appropriate."
Willis remains with KPD. In the fallout from the whistle-blowing incident, he was given to reprimands.
Chattanooga reaches $550k settlement in lawsuit over rape by former CPD officer Tuesday, March 9th 2021
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A woman that a former Chattanooga Police officer raped has reached a $550,000 settlement with the City of Chattanooga.
In August 2020, former CPD officer Desmond Logan was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping women who were detained in his custody.
City Attorney Phil Noblett told Chattanooga City Council about the settlement during Tuesday night's meeting, saying the lawsuit was resolved in its entirety.
Logan was arraigned in federal court in 2019.
The victim filed a federal lawsuit last year, claiming Chattanooga Police knew Logan had a history of sexual misconduct (read that
Federal court officials say Logan's 240-month sentence must be served in full, along with three years of supervised release.
Back in 2019, Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy had strong words for Logan's actions and its impact on the work police officers do in our communities, saying,
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A woman that a former Chattanooga Police officer raped has reached a $550,000 settlement with the City of Chattanooga.
In August 2020, former CPD officer Desmond Logan was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping women who were detained in his custody.
City Attorney Phil Noblett told Chattanooga City Council about the settlement during Tuesday night's meeting, saying the lawsuit was resolved in its entirety.
Logan was arraigned in federal court in 2019.
The victim filed a federal lawsuit last year, claiming Chattanooga Police knew Logan had a history of sexual misconduct (read that
Federal court officials say Logan's 240-month sentence must be served in full, along with three years of supervised release.
Back in 2019, Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy had strong words for Logan's actions and its impact on the work police officers do in our communities, saying,
https://www.scribd.com/document/409956181/Federal-lawsuit-against-Chattanooga-Police-Department#from_embed
Dothan will write $250,000 check to settle police shooting lawsuit
By WTVY News | March 15, 2021 at 12:57 PM EDT - Updated March 15 at 2:14 PM
DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - The city of Dothan will pay $250,000 to settle a lawsuit stemming from a Dothan police officer involved shooting.
Robert Earl Lawrence died in December 2014 during a scuffle with Officer Adrian Woodruff at the Dothan Animal Shelter. Lawrence had gone there to drop off a stray dog he found wondering around a Walmart parking lot.
Woodruff asked him to provide identification, required by shelter policy, but Lawrence refused. Afterwards, the two got into a scuffle which led to the shooting. She apparently believed he was attempting to wrestle her stun gun away.
Lawrence’s girlfriend and three children witnessed that shooting.
A Houston County Grand Jury cleared Woodruff of wrongdoing and a federal lawsuit followed.
An appeals court judge last year raised serious questions about whether the shooting had been justified and Dothan faced the possibility of a massive settlement had the case gone to trial or, at the least, hefty legal fees.
The $250,000 settlement, contingent on city commission approval, is inclusive of attorney fees. The commission will vote on the matter Tuesday.
Woodruff retired from the Dothan Police Department not long after the shooting occurred
By WTVY News | March 15, 2021 at 12:57 PM EDT - Updated March 15 at 2:14 PM
DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - The city of Dothan will pay $250,000 to settle a lawsuit stemming from a Dothan police officer involved shooting.
Robert Earl Lawrence died in December 2014 during a scuffle with Officer Adrian Woodruff at the Dothan Animal Shelter. Lawrence had gone there to drop off a stray dog he found wondering around a Walmart parking lot.
Woodruff asked him to provide identification, required by shelter policy, but Lawrence refused. Afterwards, the two got into a scuffle which led to the shooting. She apparently believed he was attempting to wrestle her stun gun away.
Lawrence’s girlfriend and three children witnessed that shooting.
A Houston County Grand Jury cleared Woodruff of wrongdoing and a federal lawsuit followed.
An appeals court judge last year raised serious questions about whether the shooting had been justified and Dothan faced the possibility of a massive settlement had the case gone to trial or, at the least, hefty legal fees.
The $250,000 settlement, contingent on city commission approval, is inclusive of attorney fees. The commission will vote on the matter Tuesday.
Woodruff retired from the Dothan Police Department not long after the shooting occurred
Former police officer in Alabama faces 2nd force lawsuit
Updated Dec 06, 2020; Posted Dec 06, 2020
PHENIX CITY, Ala. — A former police officer in Alabama who was part of a recent settlement of an excessive force lawsuit that cost Phenix City $225,000 is being sued again.
Attorney Griffin Sikes Jr. was involved in the first lawsuit against Tobias Boisvert and told WRBL-TV that Boisvert never should have been allowed to stay on the force after several disciplinary issues.
K’Cee Odom was shocked with a stun gun by Boisvert in September 2019 after the restaurant owner called police because two women were arguing and refused to leave, Sikes said.
Odom made no threats and harmed no one and the police attack on him was unprovoked, Odom said.
An attorney for the officer and Phenix City said Odom ran at the women after the officer arrived and police were scared for their safety. They said Odom was not injured and called it a nuisance lawsuit.
Last month, Phenix City agreed to pay Michael Ruda $225,000 to settle another excessive force lawsuit. Ruda said he was seriously injured when Boisvert beat him during a 2018 traffic
www.wrbl.com
Updated Dec 06, 2020; Posted Dec 06, 2020
PHENIX CITY, Ala. — A former police officer in Alabama who was part of a recent settlement of an excessive force lawsuit that cost Phenix City $225,000 is being sued again.
Attorney Griffin Sikes Jr. was involved in the first lawsuit against Tobias Boisvert and told WRBL-TV that Boisvert never should have been allowed to stay on the force after several disciplinary issues.
K’Cee Odom was shocked with a stun gun by Boisvert in September 2019 after the restaurant owner called police because two women were arguing and refused to leave, Sikes said.
Odom made no threats and harmed no one and the police attack on him was unprovoked, Odom said.
An attorney for the officer and Phenix City said Odom ran at the women after the officer arrived and police were scared for their safety. They said Odom was not injured and called it a nuisance lawsuit.
Last month, Phenix City agreed to pay Michael Ruda $225,000 to settle another excessive force lawsuit. Ruda said he was seriously injured when Boisvert beat him during a 2018 traffic
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: Attorney for man shown beaten in Phenix City Police dash cam video speaks
A local man is taking three Phenix City Police officers to court alleging excessive force and wrongful arrest. News 3 was first to bring you the graphic dash cam footage of the incident on March 30…
www.wrbl.com
City of Ladue to pay $2 million settlement to woman shot by police last year
Posted: Oct 2, 2020 / 08:53 PM CDT / Updated: Oct 3, 2020 / 08:34 PM CDT
This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
LADUE, Mo. — The city of Ladue has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a woman who was shot in the back by a police officer last year.
On April 23, 2019, Ladue Police Officer Julia Crews shot 33-year-old Ashley N. Hall who was suspected of shoplifting at the Ladue Crossing Schnucks, police said.
There was a loud, boisterous scene inside the store as workers tried to keep the woman from leaving with items she didn’t pay for, witnesses said. She assaulted a worker who tried to help her after she fell in the parking lot, according to a news release from Schnucks.
She was later shot during a struggle with the officer as she resisted arrest, police said.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Crews was charged with second-degree assault after shooting Hall. Her attorney said she meant to use her taser but drew her gun instead.
Crews resigned from the department.
Investigation continues into officer-involved shooting at Ladue Crossing Shopping Center
According to STLToday.com, “in the confidential settlement agreement released Friday to the Post-Dispatch in response to an open records request, the city ‘denies it is liable in any way’ to Ashley N. Hall and does not admit wrongdoing.”
Hall sued Ladue, Police Chief Ken Andreski, and police crews in December, claiming that Crews used unjustified and excessive force against her.
The settlement says lawyers and people involved cannot discuss its terms and does not hold the officers involved in the shooting responsible.
Posted: Oct 2, 2020 / 08:53 PM CDT / Updated: Oct 3, 2020 / 08:34 PM CDT
This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
LADUE, Mo. — The city of Ladue has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a woman who was shot in the back by a police officer last year.
On April 23, 2019, Ladue Police Officer Julia Crews shot 33-year-old Ashley N. Hall who was suspected of shoplifting at the Ladue Crossing Schnucks, police said.
There was a loud, boisterous scene inside the store as workers tried to keep the woman from leaving with items she didn’t pay for, witnesses said. She assaulted a worker who tried to help her after she fell in the parking lot, according to a news release from Schnucks.
She was later shot during a struggle with the officer as she resisted arrest, police said.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Crews was charged with second-degree assault after shooting Hall. Her attorney said she meant to use her taser but drew her gun instead.
Crews resigned from the department.
Investigation continues into officer-involved shooting at Ladue Crossing Shopping Center
According to STLToday.com, “in the confidential settlement agreement released Friday to the Post-Dispatch in response to an open records request, the city ‘denies it is liable in any way’ to Ashley N. Hall and does not admit wrongdoing.”
Hall sued Ladue, Police Chief Ken Andreski, and police crews in December, claiming that Crews used unjustified and excessive force against her.
The settlement says lawyers and people involved cannot discuss its terms and does not hold the officers involved in the shooting responsible.
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Tacoma agrees to pay $8 million to settle lawsuit by man paralyzed in 2011 police shooting
Dec. 4, 2020 at 10:44 am Updated Dec. 4, 2020 at 8:23 pm
The city of Tacoma has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by a man who was paralyzed during a police shooting in 2011, according to his attorneys.
The long-delayed trial over the shooting of Than Orn was seven days into testimony in U.S. District Court in an unprecedented remote jury trial, conducted via Zoom. The city and its attorneys claimed a remote trial would violate its constitutional rights — an argument rejected by U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman.
Dec. 4, 2020 at 10:44 am Updated Dec. 4, 2020 at 8:23 pm
The city of Tacoma has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by a man who was paralyzed during a police shooting in 2011, according to his attorneys.
The long-delayed trial over the shooting of Than Orn was seven days into testimony in U.S. District Court in an unprecedented remote jury trial, conducted via Zoom. The city and its attorneys claimed a remote trial would violate its constitutional rights — an argument rejected by U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman.
“The family is exhausted after fighting for 10 years,” said attorney Darrell Cochran, who was sharply critical of repeated delays, including an appeal by the city to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. “It has been a bruising battle from the beginning,” Cochran said. “There was a calculated effort to drag this case out, I think hoping that Mr. Orn would die.”
Orn has been plagued with serious health problems related to the shooting,
according to court pleadings.
Orn filed his lawsuit in 2013 and named the city and Officer Kristopher Clark as defendants. It claimed that Clark had no justifiable reason to fire 10 bullets into the side and back of Orn’s slow-moving SUV as it tried to swerve around his patrol car, which was blocking the exit of an apartment parking lot, after what was described as a “low-speed chase.”
According to court pleadings — which included statements from other officers on the scene — Clark disregarded orders broadcast by a supervisor and left his vehicle. Clark said Orn accelerated and tried to run him down before he fired. He kept firing as Orn’s SUV passed, he said, because he feared for the life of his partner, who evidence showed had stayed in his car and was not in danger.
Clark was cleared of wrongdoing by the Tacoma Police Department, but was told to undergo training. The department revised its chase policies after a review of the incident, according to court documents.
In a written statement, the city of Tacoma said the “incident has been difficult for everyone” and reiterated that Orn, who was not armed, “took many actions to avoid arrest.”
The city reiterated the officer’s claim that he fired to avoid “being struck or pinned” by Orn’s car as it tried to maneuver around Clark’s patrol car. Testimony during the trial by former Tacoma police Chief Don Ramsdell highlighted that Clark repeatedly violated department policies, including the order to stay in his vehicle.
“This complicated case has been pending for a long time for a variety of reasons. It is common for parties to view a case very differently, as is the situation here,” the city’s statement said. “However, the parties agree it is time to settle their differences and move forward.”
City spokeswoman Maria Lee said the settlement is contingent on approval by the City Council. The city is self-insured for the first $3 million, minus legal
costs. The remainder will be paid by the city’s insurance company.
Orn was struck several times in the back, shoulders and neck. One round severed his spinal cord, immediately paralyzing him from the chest down, according to the lawsuit.
After the shooting, Orn was charged with assault on a police officer and felony eluding. However, a jury acquitted him of those felony charges at trial. He was convicted of misdemeanor failing to obey a law enforcement officer and fined $250.
The claim states that Orn’s injuries have made it impossible for him, now a 41-year-old father of three, to work, and have resulted in “mental and emotional injuries including the collapse of his marriage.”
Both of Orn’s legs were amputated in March as a result of repeated infections, according to his lawyers.
In sending the case to trial earlier this year, a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court found that a jury should hear evidence that Clark placed himself in a potentially dangerous situation by disobeying orders and making poor tactical decisions, and then unnecessarily used deadly force to get out of it. Moreover, the judges said Clark should have known that when he fired he was violating Orn’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures.
“In the end, this is not a case in which the legality of the officer’s conduct falls within the ‘hazy border between excessive and acceptable force,’ ” wrote Judge Paul Watford for the 9th Circuit Panel, quoting from court precedent.
The city and the attorneys it hired to defend the case objected to the trial being held via Zoom. They had urged further delays until the trial could be held in person, arguing that the constitutionality of remote trials had yet to be determined and that the proceedings so far had raised questions of fairness.
“Since this all-remote trial began with jury selection, it was clear that the constitutional protections of the Seventh Amendment … and the sanctity only an in-person proceeding can maintain, had all been lost,” wrote attorney Anne Bremner, hired by the city to conduct the trial, in a motion for a mistrial filed Wednesday.
The case settled before the judge addressed those concerns.
Orn had been on his way home about 8:30 p.m. Oct. 12, 2011, driving his wife’s Mercury Montero SUV, when a Tacoma police sergeant in an unmarked vehicle going the other direction noted Orn’s headlights weren’t on. The sergeant turned around, turned on the emergency lights mounted behind his windshield and attempted to pull Orn over, according to court documents.
What ensued was a bizarre 15-minute “low-speed chase” in which Orn did not exceed the speed limit and stopped at signals and stop signs but did not pull over. At one point, he drove around a set of spike strips officers were trying to use to disable his car. Based on car-registration information, officers determined that he was heading toward his apartment in a complex near South 65th Street and Tacoma Mall Boulevard. Several officers, including
Clark, headed there.
At this point, according to court documents, at least a dozen police cars were trailing Orn as he pulled into the lot at about 5 mph, slowly drove through it and then drove over a curb to try to get around Clark’s patrol SUV, which Clark was using to block the exit.
Orn, according to court documents, said he had just smoked crack cocaine and was worried he would be arrested and wanted to get home, although police at the time were unaware drugs were involved. Court documents state that Orn was not wanted on any warrants, did not have a weapon and that his only crime to that point was failure to obey a police officer.
Orn has been plagued with serious health problems related to the shooting,
according to court pleadings.
Orn filed his lawsuit in 2013 and named the city and Officer Kristopher Clark as defendants. It claimed that Clark had no justifiable reason to fire 10 bullets into the side and back of Orn’s slow-moving SUV as it tried to swerve around his patrol car, which was blocking the exit of an apartment parking lot, after what was described as a “low-speed chase.”
According to court pleadings — which included statements from other officers on the scene — Clark disregarded orders broadcast by a supervisor and left his vehicle. Clark said Orn accelerated and tried to run him down before he fired. He kept firing as Orn’s SUV passed, he said, because he feared for the life of his partner, who evidence showed had stayed in his car and was not in danger.
Clark was cleared of wrongdoing by the Tacoma Police Department, but was told to undergo training. The department revised its chase policies after a review of the incident, according to court documents.
In a written statement, the city of Tacoma said the “incident has been difficult for everyone” and reiterated that Orn, who was not armed, “took many actions to avoid arrest.”
The city reiterated the officer’s claim that he fired to avoid “being struck or pinned” by Orn’s car as it tried to maneuver around Clark’s patrol car. Testimony during the trial by former Tacoma police Chief Don Ramsdell highlighted that Clark repeatedly violated department policies, including the order to stay in his vehicle.
“This complicated case has been pending for a long time for a variety of reasons. It is common for parties to view a case very differently, as is the situation here,” the city’s statement said. “However, the parties agree it is time to settle their differences and move forward.”
City spokeswoman Maria Lee said the settlement is contingent on approval by the City Council. The city is self-insured for the first $3 million, minus legal
costs. The remainder will be paid by the city’s insurance company.
Orn was struck several times in the back, shoulders and neck. One round severed his spinal cord, immediately paralyzing him from the chest down, according to the lawsuit.
After the shooting, Orn was charged with assault on a police officer and felony eluding. However, a jury acquitted him of those felony charges at trial. He was convicted of misdemeanor failing to obey a law enforcement officer and fined $250.
The claim states that Orn’s injuries have made it impossible for him, now a 41-year-old father of three, to work, and have resulted in “mental and emotional injuries including the collapse of his marriage.”
Both of Orn’s legs were amputated in March as a result of repeated infections, according to his lawyers.
In sending the case to trial earlier this year, a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court found that a jury should hear evidence that Clark placed himself in a potentially dangerous situation by disobeying orders and making poor tactical decisions, and then unnecessarily used deadly force to get out of it. Moreover, the judges said Clark should have known that when he fired he was violating Orn’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures.
“In the end, this is not a case in which the legality of the officer’s conduct falls within the ‘hazy border between excessive and acceptable force,’ ” wrote Judge Paul Watford for the 9th Circuit Panel, quoting from court precedent.
The city and the attorneys it hired to defend the case objected to the trial being held via Zoom. They had urged further delays until the trial could be held in person, arguing that the constitutionality of remote trials had yet to be determined and that the proceedings so far had raised questions of fairness.
“Since this all-remote trial began with jury selection, it was clear that the constitutional protections of the Seventh Amendment … and the sanctity only an in-person proceeding can maintain, had all been lost,” wrote attorney Anne Bremner, hired by the city to conduct the trial, in a motion for a mistrial filed Wednesday.
The case settled before the judge addressed those concerns.
Orn had been on his way home about 8:30 p.m. Oct. 12, 2011, driving his wife’s Mercury Montero SUV, when a Tacoma police sergeant in an unmarked vehicle going the other direction noted Orn’s headlights weren’t on. The sergeant turned around, turned on the emergency lights mounted behind his windshield and attempted to pull Orn over, according to court documents.
What ensued was a bizarre 15-minute “low-speed chase” in which Orn did not exceed the speed limit and stopped at signals and stop signs but did not pull over. At one point, he drove around a set of spike strips officers were trying to use to disable his car. Based on car-registration information, officers determined that he was heading toward his apartment in a complex near South 65th Street and Tacoma Mall Boulevard. Several officers, including
Clark, headed there.
At this point, according to court documents, at least a dozen police cars were trailing Orn as he pulled into the lot at about 5 mph, slowly drove through it and then drove over a curb to try to get around Clark’s patrol SUV, which Clark was using to block the exit.
Orn, according to court documents, said he had just smoked crack cocaine and was worried he would be arrested and wanted to get home, although police at the time were unaware drugs were involved. Court documents state that Orn was not wanted on any warrants, did not have a weapon and that his only crime to that point was failure to obey a police officer.
The Boulder City Council in Colorado has approved an $875,000 settlement with a man who was injured after a police officer shot him with a stun gun in March 2019.
Christopher Mahan got into the wrong Lyft vehicle while intoxicated and ran from a police officer who removed him from the car and tried to handcuff him, The Daily Camera reported. After he was hit with the stun gun, Mahan fell and suffered multiple fractured vertebrae and broken facial bones.
According to court documents, Boulder police are not allowed to use a stun gun for the “mere act of fleeing from officers.” The documents state that Mahan’s medical expenses cost about $585,000, and he lost income because he could not work.
The settlement was approved Tuesday, and city officials noted it would be the best option given the unpredictability of taking the case to trial.
“Given the projected costs of litigation, the city attorney believes that it is unlikely that the city will be in a significantly better economic position by litigating the case as compared to approving the proposed settlement agreement,” according to a staff memo.
Of the $875,000 settlement, $500,000 will come from the city’s propert/ casualty fund, which is designated to pay claims and settle cases. The rest will be paid by Boulder’s excess insurance carrier.
According to court documents, Boulder police are not allowed to use a stun gun for the “mere act of fleeing from officers.” The documents state that Mahan’s medical expenses cost about $585,000, and he lost income because he could not work.
The settlement was approved Tuesday, and city officials noted it would be the best option given the unpredictability of taking the case to trial.
“Given the projected costs of litigation, the city attorney believes that it is unlikely that the city will be in a significantly better economic position by litigating the case as compared to approving the proposed settlement agreement,” according to a staff memo.
Of the $875,000 settlement, $500,000 will come from the city’s propert/ casualty fund, which is designated to pay claims and settle cases. The rest will be paid by Boulder’s excess insurance carrier.
$3.5M Settlement Reached in Death of Black Man Shot 22 Times by West Virginia Police
July 24, 2020
A West Virginia city has agreed to settle an excessive force lawsuit filed by the family of a homeless Black man who was shot 22 times by police, an attorney said.
Christopher E. Brown, the attorney for the family of Wayne Arnold Jones, told The Washington Post that the lawsuit was settled for $3.5 million.
A Berkeley County grand jury declined to indict the officers in the shooting. The U.S. Justice Department later said there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal civil rights charges against police. Civil rights leaders had pressed for the investigation.
The Jones family has filed a separate appeal in state court seeking a grand jury investigation, Brown said.
“The fact that I could tell my client that we still have a shot at criminal prosecution made the (settlement) figure very acceptable,” Brown said.
July 24, 2020
A West Virginia city has agreed to settle an excessive force lawsuit filed by the family of a homeless Black man who was shot 22 times by police, an attorney said.
Christopher E. Brown, the attorney for the family of Wayne Arnold Jones, told The Washington Post that the lawsuit was settled for $3.5 million.
“I promised my mother before she died that we would continue to fight for justice,” Jones’ brother, Bruce Jones, told the newspaper. “The settlement makes me feel a little bit better, but until I can have a chance to have these cops prosecuted, I am still going to be pushing for justice.”
The Martinsburg Police Department said in a statement that the settlement was not an admission of guilt.
Police had stopped Wayne Jones as he was walking on a Martinsburg street. Jones was shot after police said the 50-year-old Stephens City, Virginia, resident shrugged off two jolts from a stun gun, fought with officers and stabbed one of them. The officers are white.
U.S. District Judge Gina Groh had dismissed the lawsuit. But a three-member federal appeals court panel reversed the granting of summary judgment to the officers on qualified immunity grounds last month, saying that “a reasonable jury could find that Jones was both secured and incapacitated in the final moments before his death.”
The court also referenced the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis after white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for several minutes. That death prompted protests by millions of people
around the world
The appeals panel noted that “although we recognize that our police officers are often asked to make split-second decisions, we expect them to do so with respect for the dignity and worth of black lives. This has to stop.”
The police department’s statement said the city’s insurance carrier agreed to the settlement to avoid the ongoing costs of litigation along with the stress that a trial would bring to the officers and the families of the officers and Jones.
The city of Martinsburg said in the statement that “with this settlement, the City and the MPD hope everyone involved will be able to put this incident behind them and allow the community to heal.”
The Martinsburg Police Department said in a statement that the settlement was not an admission of guilt.
Police had stopped Wayne Jones as he was walking on a Martinsburg street. Jones was shot after police said the 50-year-old Stephens City, Virginia, resident shrugged off two jolts from a stun gun, fought with officers and stabbed one of them. The officers are white.
U.S. District Judge Gina Groh had dismissed the lawsuit. But a three-member federal appeals court panel reversed the granting of summary judgment to the officers on qualified immunity grounds last month, saying that “a reasonable jury could find that Jones was both secured and incapacitated in the final moments before his death.”
The court also referenced the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis after white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for several minutes. That death prompted protests by millions of people
around the world
The appeals panel noted that “although we recognize that our police officers are often asked to make split-second decisions, we expect them to do so with respect for the dignity and worth of black lives. This has to stop.”
The police department’s statement said the city’s insurance carrier agreed to the settlement to avoid the ongoing costs of litigation along with the stress that a trial would bring to the officers and the families of the officers and Jones.
The city of Martinsburg said in the statement that “with this settlement, the City and the MPD hope everyone involved will be able to put this incident behind them and allow the community to heal.”
A Berkeley County grand jury declined to indict the officers in the shooting. The U.S. Justice Department later said there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal civil rights charges against police. Civil rights leaders had pressed for the investigation.
The Jones family has filed a separate appeal in state court seeking a grand jury investigation, Brown said.
“The fact that I could tell my client that we still have a shot at criminal prosecution made the (settlement) figure very acceptable,” Brown said.
Surreal
State of Pennsylvania to Pay $475K to Family of Pot Suspect Killed by Dozer
March 17, 2021
The state of Pennsylvania will pay $475,000 to the estate of a man who died underneath a bulldozer that Pennsylvania State Police had used to chase him for growing a handful of marijuana plants, according to a settlement revealed in court.
The settlement did not require the state agencies to admit wrongdoing. A state police corporal who rode the bulldozer and a game commission worker who operated it remain on the job.
State of Pennsylvania to Pay $475K to Family of Pot Suspect Killed by Dozer
March 17, 2021
The state of Pennsylvania will pay $475,000 to the estate of a man who died underneath a bulldozer that Pennsylvania State Police had used to chase him for growing a handful of marijuana plants, according to a settlement revealed in court.
Gregory Longenecker, a 51-year-old short-order cook and Grateful Dead fan, had fled into thick brush after being caught growing 10 marijuana plants on public land near Reading. His body was found under the treads of a Pennsylvania Game Commission bulldozer that state police had commandeered in pursuit.
The lawsuit by Longenecker’s family contended that state police and the game commission took “crazy and lethal action” against an unarmed man who posed no threat, then destroyed or withheld evidence to cover it up.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Jordan Strokovsky, said outside court that Longenecker’s family is pleased with the settlement but wants “sweeping reforms to prevent such an excessive show of force and tragedy like this in the future.”
A federal judge is reviewing the settlement and is expected to sign off.
A prosecutor who investigated Longenecker’s death concluded that troopers acted reasonably. Authorities have publicly contended that Longenecker was high on methamphetamine, crawled under the back of the bulldozer when it stopped briefly, and was crushed to death when it started moving again and made a left turn.
The lawsuit called that explanation ludicrous, and witness statements cast doubt on the official version of how he got caught under the machine.
Strokovsky demanded an investigation by the state attorney general’s office, accusing the Berks County district attorney’s office and state police of misleading the public.
“Rather than admit what happened and apologize for their excessive tactics … state police, with the assistance of the Berks County district attorney’s office, disregarded evidence and provided a ridiculous and unfounded conclusion” to show that “law enforcement did nothing wrong,” Strokovsky said.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams said his office stands by its investigation, “and to date we have not been provided with any evidence contrary to our investigative findings.”
The lawsuit by Longenecker’s family contended that state police and the game commission took “crazy and lethal action” against an unarmed man who posed no threat, then destroyed or withheld evidence to cover it up.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Jordan Strokovsky, said outside court that Longenecker’s family is pleased with the settlement but wants “sweeping reforms to prevent such an excessive show of force and tragedy like this in the future.”
A federal judge is reviewing the settlement and is expected to sign off.
A prosecutor who investigated Longenecker’s death concluded that troopers acted reasonably. Authorities have publicly contended that Longenecker was high on methamphetamine, crawled under the back of the bulldozer when it stopped briefly, and was crushed to death when it started moving again and made a left turn.
The lawsuit called that explanation ludicrous, and witness statements cast doubt on the official version of how he got caught under the machine.
Strokovsky demanded an investigation by the state attorney general’s office, accusing the Berks County district attorney’s office and state police of misleading the public.
“Rather than admit what happened and apologize for their excessive tactics … state police, with the assistance of the Berks County district attorney’s office, disregarded evidence and provided a ridiculous and unfounded conclusion” to show that “law enforcement did nothing wrong,” Strokovsky said.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams said his office stands by its investigation, “and to date we have not been provided with any evidence contrary to our investigative findings.”
The settlement did not require the state agencies to admit wrongdoing. A state police corporal who rode the bulldozer and a game commission worker who operated it remain on the job.
Topeka, Kansas, to Settle 2016 Police Crash Lawsuit for $335K
March 16, 2021
The city of Topeka, Kansas, has settled a lawsuit over a 2016 crash involving a police cruiser that left two people injured, according to a city official.
The city has agreed to pay $335,000 to settle the case, Topeka City Manager Brent Trout told television station KSNT.
The incident stemmed from an April 2016 crash in which an on-duty officer drove through a red light, reportedly at an excessive speed, and hit a car driven by Jesus Meza. The collision caused the car to roll several times and seriously injured Meza and a passenger, Mayra Meraz.
In 2018, the pair sued the city for $5 million. The lawsuit said Meza had to undergo surgeries after being diagnosed with a scraped cornea and several fractures and that Meraz suffered from headaches as well as back and hip pain following the crash.
March 16, 2021
The city of Topeka, Kansas, has settled a lawsuit over a 2016 crash involving a police cruiser that left two people injured, according to a city official.
The city has agreed to pay $335,000 to settle the case, Topeka City Manager Brent Trout told television station KSNT.
The incident stemmed from an April 2016 crash in which an on-duty officer drove through a red light, reportedly at an excessive speed, and hit a car driven by Jesus Meza. The collision caused the car to roll several times and seriously injured Meza and a passenger, Mayra Meraz.
In 2018, the pair sued the city for $5 million. The lawsuit said Meza had to undergo surgeries after being diagnosed with a scraped cornea and several fractures and that Meraz suffered from headaches as well as back and hip pain following the crash.
Bennington agrees to settle racial profiling case for $30,000
Vermont Business Magazine A civil rights lawsuit brought by Shamel Alexander against the Town of Bennington and its police department has been settled out of court, with the city agreeing to a $30,000 cash settlement to resolve claims of systemic racial profiling by Bennington police.
Vermont Business Magazine A civil rights lawsuit brought by Shamel Alexander against the Town of Bennington and its police department has been settled out of court, with the city agreeing to a $30,000 cash settlement to resolve claims of systemic racial profiling by Bennington police.
ACLU of Vermont senior staff attorney Lia Ernst: “Our client is grateful to have this case resolved, having shined a spotlight on system-wide discriminatory police practices in Bennington. This settlement does not alleviate the need for top-to-bottom changes to a deeply troubled police department and to a municipal leadership that continues to deny there is even a problem with unconstitutional police practices in Bennington. The people of Bennington deserve far better.”
Bennington had twice asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit—and was twice rejected. In denying the defendants’ second motion to dismiss, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ruled that, based on facts alleged, it was reasonable to infer that, “had Bennington appropriately trained or supervised its police officers with respect to racial disparities in stops and searches, Alexander would not have been stopped or searched and his equal protection rights would not have been violated.”
The court’s decision cited a Vermont study showing that Bennington police stopped Black drivers far out of proportion to their share of the driving population and were five times more likely to search Black drivers than white drivers—while searches of Black drivers were less likely to uncover an arrestable offense.
The study showed that racial disparities were not isolated to a few officers, but rather were observable in data for 22 of 24 officers in the Bennington Police Department (BPD).
This settlement comes two months after the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) issued a series of recommendations for reforming the BPD.
The IACP report catalogued numerous deficiencies in BPD, describing a department badly out of step with best practices, exhibiting a “warrior mentality,” and deeply mistrusted by Bennington community members.
In a survey of local residents, 40% of respondents said they didn’t trust BPD, while fully 20% reported experiencing discrimination.
At the same time, the IACP report sidestepped available data and analysis—the same data cited by Judge Crawford — showing pronounced racial disparities in BPD traffic stops and made no mention of Vermont Supreme Court decisions finding BPD had unlawfully stopped Black men. Bennington leaders are now deciding whether and how to act on the report.
ACLU of Vermont senior staff attorney Jay Diaz: “The ongoing problems with Bennington police show the limits of traditional police reform efforts and the need to more boldly reimagine the future of policing in this state. Vermont’s legislature has an important role to play in adopting policies that reduce the power of police and make them accountable to their communities. The events of the past several weeks show that people are not going to tolerate lip service and half measures any longer.”
In July 2013, Shamel Alexander was riding in a taxi when it was stopped on a pretext by Bennington Police. The reason police offered for the stop was an equipment violation, but they quickly turned it into an investigation of Alexander— despite a lack of reasonable suspicion to believe he was committing any crime.
Alexander was arrested for a drug offense, but his subsequent conviction was unanimously overturned by the Vermont Supreme Court, which held that the police violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.
Alexander is represented by the ACLU of Vermont and cooperating attorney David Williams of Jarvis, McArthur & Williams.
Bennington had twice asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit—and was twice rejected. In denying the defendants’ second motion to dismiss, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ruled that, based on facts alleged, it was reasonable to infer that, “had Bennington appropriately trained or supervised its police officers with respect to racial disparities in stops and searches, Alexander would not have been stopped or searched and his equal protection rights would not have been violated.”
The court’s decision cited a Vermont study showing that Bennington police stopped Black drivers far out of proportion to their share of the driving population and were five times more likely to search Black drivers than white drivers—while searches of Black drivers were less likely to uncover an arrestable offense.
The study showed that racial disparities were not isolated to a few officers, but rather were observable in data for 22 of 24 officers in the Bennington Police Department (BPD).
This settlement comes two months after the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) issued a series of recommendations for reforming the BPD.
The IACP report catalogued numerous deficiencies in BPD, describing a department badly out of step with best practices, exhibiting a “warrior mentality,” and deeply mistrusted by Bennington community members.
In a survey of local residents, 40% of respondents said they didn’t trust BPD, while fully 20% reported experiencing discrimination.
At the same time, the IACP report sidestepped available data and analysis—the same data cited by Judge Crawford — showing pronounced racial disparities in BPD traffic stops and made no mention of Vermont Supreme Court decisions finding BPD had unlawfully stopped Black men. Bennington leaders are now deciding whether and how to act on the report.
ACLU of Vermont senior staff attorney Jay Diaz: “The ongoing problems with Bennington police show the limits of traditional police reform efforts and the need to more boldly reimagine the future of policing in this state. Vermont’s legislature has an important role to play in adopting policies that reduce the power of police and make them accountable to their communities. The events of the past several weeks show that people are not going to tolerate lip service and half measures any longer.”
In July 2013, Shamel Alexander was riding in a taxi when it was stopped on a pretext by Bennington Police. The reason police offered for the stop was an equipment violation, but they quickly turned it into an investigation of Alexander— despite a lack of reasonable suspicion to believe he was committing any crime.
Alexander was arrested for a drug offense, but his subsequent conviction was unanimously overturned by the Vermont Supreme Court, which held that the police violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.
Alexander is represented by the ACLU of Vermont and cooperating attorney David Williams of Jarvis, McArthur & Williams.
Livonia settles 2014 racial profiling lawsuit for $260,000
After years of legal jousting, the City of Livonia took full financial responsibility for the $260,000 settlement of a racial profiling lawsuit.
Assistant City Attorney Eric Goldstein confirmed that the city paid the full amount last year because the other defendants in the lawsuit — Canton Township and township officer Adam Falk — did what they were supposed to do when arresting African-American Christopher Lee-Murray Bey, then 26, in 2013.
“The city agreed to a settlement offered in order to limit the liability of Livonia taxpayers, especially in the current political landscape," Goldstein said.
Various city, township and police officials declined to comment. Livonia City Council supported the settlement before the financial agreement was finalized.
Delisha Upshaw, a member of Livonia Citizens Caring About Black Lives group, said the case, along with its settlement, is a “glaring example” of why a special board is needed to investigate complaints about police misconduct.
“When police are left to police themselves, taxpayers pay the price through costly legal fees and lawsuit settlements like this one,” she said.
Contact reporter Susan Vela at svela@hometownlife.com or 248-303-8432. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
After years of legal jousting, the City of Livonia took full financial responsibility for the $260,000 settlement of a racial profiling lawsuit.
Assistant City Attorney Eric Goldstein confirmed that the city paid the full amount last year because the other defendants in the lawsuit — Canton Township and township officer Adam Falk — did what they were supposed to do when arresting African-American Christopher Lee-Murray Bey, then 26, in 2013.
Court documents filed in the U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court detail that Bey and some friends caught the attention of undercover Livonia officers Andrew McKinley, Eric Eisenbeis and Megan McAteer while traveling in a beat-up minivan to a Meijer store in the early morning hours of March 16, 2013.
McKinley wanted the minivan followed because of "a hunch" based on training and experience that implied stolen, older vehicles are used for retail crimes because they're difficult to trace back to the criminals, according to appellate documents.
He and the other Livonia officers were driving in unmarked vehicles to investigate retail crimes. The officers apparently did not know Bey and his friends were Black at the start of the investigation.
McKinley saw a temporary paper registration taped to the window when the suspects entered the store. The officer then learned there were no matching records in a state database.
Eisenbeis has said he heard McKinley say over the radio that the problem with the temporary license plate was that “it was unreadable.” Bey has said the temporary license plate was valid and clearly visible.
The Livonia officers proceeded to follow Bey and his buddies from the Livonia Meijer to a Livonia Walmart and then to a Canton Walmart.
McAteer followed them through the Canton store, relaying information to her colleagues about the weapons and electronics section Bey and his friends visited before the suspects flipped through some credit cards and paid for their items.
Livonia’s undercover officers had contacted their neighboring colleagues, and uniformed Canton police were waiting for Bey and his friends when they left the store.
“The (Livonia officers) did not want to contact Bey and his friends, if possible, because they were in plain clothes and protocol generally dictates that uniformed officers approach suspects,” appellate court documents stated. “(Officer) Falk and the other Canton police officers surrounded Bey’s van and ordered him out of the vehicle.”
Bey let Falk know he was armed, pointing to his holster so the Canton officer could remove the weapon. Falk learned the receipts for space heaters showed no signs of fraud. But Bey’s concealed weapon license had expired, leading to his arrest.
Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner dismissed the weapons charge in June 2013. Bey filed his federal lawsuit more than a year later in September 2014.
“Defendant Falk, and two other unidentified City of Canton police officers, approached the vehicle and stopped plaintiff and his friends, in spite of the fact that there was no probable cause to do so,” Bey said in his first complaint, with Falk identified as the sole defendant.
Later, Canton Township, Livonia and the Livonia officers were named as defendants.
Bey could not be reached for comment and his attorney Joel Sklar did not respond to phone and Facebook messages.
Goldstein requested the U.S. Supreme Court’s review on McKinley’s behalf in June.
More:Livonia council delays decision to add social workers to police force
The appellate judges had ruled in 2019 that a jury should decide on McKinley since he was the decision maker who ordered the surveillance and Canton arrest. The same judges dismissed complaints against the other Livonia and Canton officers.
“The Canton Township police officer named in this lawsuit was dismissed pursuant to a 2019 decision issued by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals,” said attorney Holly Battersby, who represented the township and its officer. “It is the township’s position, which is strongly supported by the law, that it likewise had no liability. At the time the suit concluded, a motion to dismiss filed on the township’s behalf was pending in the trial court.”
Over the summer, after an outsider facilitator became involved, Bey agreed to settle for $260,000. Livonia was willing to pay the full amount. A judge dismissed the case in September.
McKinley wanted the minivan followed because of "a hunch" based on training and experience that implied stolen, older vehicles are used for retail crimes because they're difficult to trace back to the criminals, according to appellate documents.
He and the other Livonia officers were driving in unmarked vehicles to investigate retail crimes. The officers apparently did not know Bey and his friends were Black at the start of the investigation.
McKinley saw a temporary paper registration taped to the window when the suspects entered the store. The officer then learned there were no matching records in a state database.
Eisenbeis has said he heard McKinley say over the radio that the problem with the temporary license plate was that “it was unreadable.” Bey has said the temporary license plate was valid and clearly visible.
The Livonia officers proceeded to follow Bey and his buddies from the Livonia Meijer to a Livonia Walmart and then to a Canton Walmart.
McAteer followed them through the Canton store, relaying information to her colleagues about the weapons and electronics section Bey and his friends visited before the suspects flipped through some credit cards and paid for their items.
Livonia’s undercover officers had contacted their neighboring colleagues, and uniformed Canton police were waiting for Bey and his friends when they left the store.
“The (Livonia officers) did not want to contact Bey and his friends, if possible, because they were in plain clothes and protocol generally dictates that uniformed officers approach suspects,” appellate court documents stated. “(Officer) Falk and the other Canton police officers surrounded Bey’s van and ordered him out of the vehicle.”
Bey let Falk know he was armed, pointing to his holster so the Canton officer could remove the weapon. Falk learned the receipts for space heaters showed no signs of fraud. But Bey’s concealed weapon license had expired, leading to his arrest.
Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner dismissed the weapons charge in June 2013. Bey filed his federal lawsuit more than a year later in September 2014.
“Defendant Falk, and two other unidentified City of Canton police officers, approached the vehicle and stopped plaintiff and his friends, in spite of the fact that there was no probable cause to do so,” Bey said in his first complaint, with Falk identified as the sole defendant.
Later, Canton Township, Livonia and the Livonia officers were named as defendants.
Bey could not be reached for comment and his attorney Joel Sklar did not respond to phone and Facebook messages.
Goldstein requested the U.S. Supreme Court’s review on McKinley’s behalf in June.
More:Livonia council delays decision to add social workers to police force
The appellate judges had ruled in 2019 that a jury should decide on McKinley since he was the decision maker who ordered the surveillance and Canton arrest. The same judges dismissed complaints against the other Livonia and Canton officers.
“The Canton Township police officer named in this lawsuit was dismissed pursuant to a 2019 decision issued by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals,” said attorney Holly Battersby, who represented the township and its officer. “It is the township’s position, which is strongly supported by the law, that it likewise had no liability. At the time the suit concluded, a motion to dismiss filed on the township’s behalf was pending in the trial court.”
Over the summer, after an outsider facilitator became involved, Bey agreed to settle for $260,000. Livonia was willing to pay the full amount. A judge dismissed the case in September.
“The city agreed to a settlement offered in order to limit the liability of Livonia taxpayers, especially in the current political landscape," Goldstein said.
Various city, township and police officials declined to comment. Livonia City Council supported the settlement before the financial agreement was finalized.
Delisha Upshaw, a member of Livonia Citizens Caring About Black Lives group, said the case, along with its settlement, is a “glaring example” of why a special board is needed to investigate complaints about police misconduct.
“When police are left to police themselves, taxpayers pay the price through costly legal fees and lawsuit settlements like this one,” she said.
Contact reporter Susan Vela at svela@hometownlife.com or 248-303-8432. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
City of Hugo agrees to settlement with mother of children shot at by officers
Published: Sep. 2, 2020 at 10:39 PM CDT
HUGO, Oklahoma (KXII) - The city of Hugo has agreed to a financial settlement with the mother of four children who were inside a truck that was shot at by the police department in April of 2019.
As for the officers involved, Wood said Billy Jenkins and Chad Allen were cleared in an administrative investigation and were back to work months after the incident.
Published: Sep. 2, 2020 at 10:39 PM CDT
HUGO, Oklahoma (KXII) - The city of Hugo has agreed to a financial settlement with the mother of four children who were inside a truck that was shot at by the police department in April of 2019.
“The officers could not see the kids in the back seat, and the vehicle they thought was going to run over them, and that’s when they fired shots.”said they city’s attorney Scott Wood.
April 26, 2019, Hugo police opened fire on a robbery suspect they say was trying to hit them with the truck he was driving, not knowing there were four small children inside with him.
Three of those children were injured.
Months later, the children’s mother Olivia Hill, filed a civil suit against the city.
“These young children are truly, truly innocent victims of what happened. They were there because adults put them in that car.” Wood said.
Civil Rights Defense Attorney Scott Wood defended the city in this case.
He said Hill was well within her rights to ask the city for medical costs.
”You have to intend to have hit the person that is hit. They were shooting at the driver of the vehicle, they didn’t know any one else was inside the vehicle.” Wood said.
Wood said the city agreed to a financial settlement, but wouldn’t say how much they’ll pay Ms. Hill.
The Hugo Newspaper quotes Hugo’s mayor and city manager, saying the settlement was “within the limits of the insurance policy and would not pose a financial burden upon the city.”
”The medical care providers that took care of the children will be paid, and certain amounts of money will be set aside for each of the children.” Wood said.
April 26, 2019, Hugo police opened fire on a robbery suspect they say was trying to hit them with the truck he was driving, not knowing there were four small children inside with him.
Three of those children were injured.
Months later, the children’s mother Olivia Hill, filed a civil suit against the city.
“These young children are truly, truly innocent victims of what happened. They were there because adults put them in that car.” Wood said.
Civil Rights Defense Attorney Scott Wood defended the city in this case.
He said Hill was well within her rights to ask the city for medical costs.
”You have to intend to have hit the person that is hit. They were shooting at the driver of the vehicle, they didn’t know any one else was inside the vehicle.” Wood said.
Wood said the city agreed to a financial settlement, but wouldn’t say how much they’ll pay Ms. Hill.
The Hugo Newspaper quotes Hugo’s mayor and city manager, saying the settlement was “within the limits of the insurance policy and would not pose a financial burden upon the city.”
”The medical care providers that took care of the children will be paid, and certain amounts of money will be set aside for each of the children.” Wood said.
As for the officers involved, Wood said Billy Jenkins and Chad Allen were cleared in an administrative investigation and were back to work months after the incident.