Posted on 05/03/2004 10:52:30 AM PDT by Veracious Poet
PORTLAND, Ore. - The city of Portland has agreed to pay $145,000 to an elderly blind woman after police pepper-sprayed and shocked her with a stun gun.
The altercation began as an attempt to remove shrubs and appliances from 71-year-old Eunice Crowder's yard, and ended with police citing her for harassment and disobeying an order.
This week, the city agreed to settle her excessive force lawsuit out of federal court, a month after a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge dismissed the violations against her.
"This case goes to show that police misconduct and excessive force can happen to anybody outside the mainstream," said Ernest Warren Jr., Crowder's lawyer. "It does not have to be an African American; it can be someone who is elderly and white."
The Portland City Council approved the settlement, based on a review by the city's risk management division that indicated "there is risk the City may be found liable."
The June 9, 2003, incident began when Ed Marihart, a city employee, showed up at Crowder's home. He served her with an administrative search warrant to remove an accumulation of trash and debris.
According to Crowder and her lawyer, the woman told him she was blind and hard of hearing, and asked him to read the entire warrant to her, but he refused. She said he placed it in her hands, walked outside and ordered others to start removing items from her yard.
The city denies that the woman asked Marihart to read the warrant and maintains that Marihart explained to her why he was there.
The woman followed the city employee outside. She was concerned that he and his co-workers had removed a family heirloom, a 90-year-old red toy wagon with rhododendrons in it. She asked to enter a trailer, where items from her yard were being placed, to feel around for the wagon.
Marihart told her she couldn't enter the trailer and said the wagon was not inside. He then called police.
When Portland Officers Robert Miller and Eric Zajac arrived at the house, Crowder acknowledged she had one foot on the curb and one foot on the bumper of the trailer. She felt someone step on her foot and asked, "Who are you?"
Moments later, she felt someone strike her in the head, which dislodged her prosthetic right eye from its socket, and was knocked to the ground, she claimed in her lawsuit.
Officers said Crowder ignored their commands not to climb into the trailer and tried to bite Miller's hand.
They acknowledged she was "pushed onto the dirt next to the sidewalk," according to the city's legal brief filed in court.
While on the ground, Crowder asked the officer what he thought he was doing and kicked Miller. She said the officer kicked her back, then pepper-sprayed her in her eyes.
"While she's still on the ground, on her stomach, they tased her in the back and in the breast," her lawyer said.
Police said they pepper-sprayed Crowder after she refused to stop kicking them. They admit that Crowder's prosthetic eye fell out at some point, and that Zajac stunned Crowder with a Taser, an electric stun gun, twice in the lower back and once in the upper back after ordering her to stop fighting and resisting.
Warren said the city's argument is bogus. He said, "To kick the crap out of old folks seems a little bit much to me in the name of law enforcement,"
Exactly my point, thank you.
There's no way that anyone can convince me that these police officers simply beat up on an elderly woman for no reason at all.
Does that make it right that they beat up on her? No. (Like I said in my original post, I'm sure they could've done a better job subduing her than tasering and pepper spraying).
Unless you think the police are staffed by psychos though, there must have been a REASON they used force on her.
Possible retort: Yeah, there was a reason, she dared to talk back to the Jackbooted thug.
Fine, again, I didn't say the force the used on her was appropriate. But even if she "copped an attitude" with them, after they served a LEGITIMATE WARRANT on her, I think that merits SOME kind of response. Or are they simply to say at that point, "Old lady with an attitude here fellas! Put away that warrant we had signed by a judge! Send all these people we had come out here on the city's dime to move her crap away! Can't mess with an old lady with an attitude dontcha know!" Please.
Or is total anarchy simply the way to go, at any time, when facing the police?
Please don't flame me for "supporting the abuse of an elderly woman". I have not, and do not. I'm simply saying there's probably more than one idiotic party in this altercation here, and this article smacks of bias, imo.
Maybe. But you have to wonder about the judgment and suitability of temper of cops who use this much force to subdue an old lady.
100% Agreed. And btw, for the record, I do believe she deserved some compensation for the way she was treated. However, I think a simple compensation for her (any) medical bills would've been fair enough.
I do recall a $150 no seat belt ticket and other nanny state BS harrassment.
A very few may be heroes imo, all of them arent. Respect is earned not given.
I have no idea what you're suggesting here. Are you suggesting that the police force a civilian to help her move?
Wow, ok.
But you have to wonder about the judgment and suitability of temper of cops who use this much force to subdue an old lady.
True - but I do want to make it known that she is not what one usually pictures a "little old lady" - this is a large mouthy old lady from what I saw of her on the news. The visual that comes to my mind when someone writes "old lady" is not what this woman, in reality, looks like.
Again, judgement by all was skewed in this incident, but please don't picture her as some frail grandma from a Norman Rockwell painting.
Assuming that you mean "threw the first blows"...
Anyone who believes that police officers "threw the first blows" against an elderly woman is delusional...
If they did thow the first blows, I would gladly have them tried, convicted and jailed for the assault.
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