Citizen Review Commitee Hears Two Other Cases, Rejects a Third

Two Other Cases Heard by the CRC­Alleged Excessive Force, Improper Detention

This case, heard on October 18, involves a young man who was asked to leave after drinking at a downtown club. Security guards put him in a "sleeper hold" across his neck and handcuffed him to a bicycle rack. He is unclear whether guards or police later used a foot to push his face into the sidewalk, stood on his hand and laughed at him when he said he was in pain and cried. He says one officer called him a "piece of shit."
1) The officers denied taking him to the ground, but the security guards/bouncers were never interviewed to determine who manhandled the appellant.
2) The police brought him to Detox, where he says his permit for a concealed weapon, shoulder holster and cell phone holder were taken but not released or listed on his property receipt. The officers said they never saw such items.
3) He did not ask for medical attention but realized the next day he was injured. One officer said he saw blood on the man's mouth and claimed the man declined medical help.
Given these facts, the findings on his allegations of excessive force, mishandled property, and lack of medical attention should have been "Insufficient Evidence," not "Unfounded."
Rather than send the case back for more witnesses to be interviewed, member Loren Ericksson seemed to pass judgment on the appellant for having been drunk, equating his inability to accurately remember the events with the notion that the police version of the story is true. Ericksson's motion to decline the appeal was passed by a 4-3 vote.

Case #2005-x-0004: Man alleges police arrested him without cause, treated him rudely, refused to identify themselves, and made a racially degrading comment

This case is based on an incident from August, 2003 in which an African American man spoke out when he witnessed another man being arrested. According to the complaint, one officer asked why he was "applauding" the first suspect, which the appellant thought was a racially biased remark. She then took the man into custody because he was at a bus stop and said he was not waiting for a bus. Outside the Old Town precinct, once the man was released, a Sergeant refused to give his name and DPSST number and allegedly threw his ticket on the ground.
Oddly, the first disposition letter that was sent (in July) stated that all seven allegations in the complaint were "Unfounded," but a revised letter, sent after the complainant appealed, listed all seven as "Insufficient Evidence." Director Leslie Stevens attached a letter of apology to the new letter.
At the pre-hearing, nobody read the appellant's summary statement into the record, and then the discussion process was bypassed when member Gwenn Baldwin made a motion to send the case to a full hearing. The CRC voted 6-2 to hear the case. Member Bob Ueland voted against the hearing, saying there was no "lasting damage" to a person being mistreated this way, but that does not excuse the officers' behavior. It is evident this person was picked up and run through the system and then no other informaton was located about him in the two years after the incident.
In December, the appellant failed to show up, and the CRC voted 4-3 not to hold the hearing. Instead, they let IAD complain that lack of staffing was to blame for the long delay. Despite a few pointed questions regarding the original incident, it is clear that no real change will result from this disturbing case.

Service Complaint Won't Be Reconsidered