Posted on 03/16/2012 12:35:15 PM PDT by Altariel
The panel finds that department officials violated his free speech rights
A federal jury ruled Wednesday night in favor of a former Eugene police officer who claimed in a lawsuit that his supervisors violated his free speech rights by transferring him from his job working with a police dog after he questioned the department’s response to multiple, inadvertent discharges of high-powered weapons by SWAT team members.
The jury ordered the city of Eugene to pay former officer Brian Hagen $50,000 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages. The jury ruled unanimously that Hagen’s First Amendment rights were violated by Eugene Police Chief Pete Kerns, Lt. Jennifer Bills and Lt. Tom Eichhorn.
Hagen had sought $600,000 in his lawsuit, which he filed after he was reassigned to patrol duties in 2009. Hagen resigned from the Eugene police force last year to take a position as a Clackamas County sheriff’s deputy.
Jury deliberations began around 4 p.m. Wednesday and concluded around 8 p.m.
“This is the hardest thing I have ever been through in my life,” Hagen said about the case, after the jury returned its verdict.
Hagen, who grew up in Eugene with hopes of someday working for the city police force, said he has “no ill will against anyone at the Eugene Police Department.”
Kerns offered a brief comment upon leaving the U.S. Courthouse in Eugene on Wednesday night.
“We’ll study (the verdict) closely and decide how best to proceed from here,” he said.
Jeff Matthews, an attorney representing the city in the case, told jurors during his closing argument on Wednesday afternoon that public employees such as Hagen are not covered by First Amendment protections unless they are speaking as private citizens.
Hagen’s attorney, Jaime Goldberg of Portland, disagreed with Matthews’ argument, although he said he won’t be surprised if the city appeals the verdict.
“In very important jobs, such as a police officer’s, it is vital that people have the right to speak out about what they see,” Goldberg said. “We think a big message was sent tonight, and whatever happens next (as far as a potential appeal), I don’t care right now.”
Hagen said he frequently voiced concerns to Eichhorn about the safety of working with the city’s SWAT team after several team members were involved in a series of inadvertent gun discharges.
Hagen attributed his concern in part to watching former SWAT team Sgt. Jay Shadwick forced to leave the team because of continuing pain from a bullet wound he suffered in 2001 when a team sniper mistakenly shot and seriously wounded him.
Former Eugene Police Chief Robert Lehner testified during the trial that the accidental discharges posed a serious safety threat — prompting him to temporarily “stand down” the unit while new safety measures were put in place.
The SWAT team has not had any accidental discharges since the new measures went into effect in 2007, Matthews said.
The city contended that Hagen’s “nondisciplinary transfer” back to traffic patrol in 2008 had little to do with the fact that he continued to bring up safety concerns.
Matthews said Hagen was transferred from his job as a police dog handler because he could not overcome communication problems with Eichhorn, who was his direct supervisor.
After Eichhorn reported having issues with Hagen, Bills removed the officer from the police department’s “K-9” team in an action that was approved by Kerns.
A police department caught lying again....And Eugene, Oregon, needs police dressing up in ninja costumes to keep the peace?? Swat teams need to be disbanded just about everywhere except, perhaps, places like Detroit and LA.
Considering how few real SWAT situations there are, maybe one team centrally located in each state with a dedicated helicopter standing by?
no. If it is that critical, go through the Governor’s office and vet the national guard MPs. There are so few hostage situations that that would be the best solution.
Funny as hell, these guys are so lame they can’t even shoot the family dog but end up bagging one of their own! The real reason this K-9 officer was making a stink was his concern that they’d miss the family dog and accidentally shot his K-9. They should out law SWAT teams at the local level and have one or two at the state level and severely restrict what kind of situations these trigger happy yahoos are deployed under. Would be safer for every family dog in America.
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