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Posted on 08/09/2005 11:15:50 AM PDT by connectthedots
SEATTLE - A man apparently woken from a drunken stupor by Pierce County sheriff's deputies, repeatedly zapped with a stun gun and finally chewed by a police dog - all in front of a production crew from the TV show "Cops" - has sued the county and the officers, alleging brutality.
The deputies, accompanied by a K-9 officer from the Tacoma Police Department, were looking for an armed suspect in a car break-in when they came upon Aaron Otto Hansen, 34, of Roy, early on July 10, 2004.
Hansen, who did not commit the crime, was passed out drunk in a sleeping bag outside a relative's home in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood, one of his lawyers said. The "Cops" video footage of his arrest, obtained by The Associated Press, seems to support that claim:
(Excerpt) Read more at komotv.com ...
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May he collect $1 million.
Bet they tried to get the guy to plea bargain in an effort to avoid being sued. He's going to win big.
At least $5 million based on other cases against governments in the state.
This is way I hate authority.
His lucky day that the "Cops" crew was there.
"He was hiding in what looked like a sleeping bag, "
They never seen a sleeping bag before in WA state?
Not sleeping bag. Prosecutor describes it as "portable, fabric based concealment niche." (/sarcasm)
Oh, of course, a PFBCN!
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The county has probably already indemnified the officers. Good part about that is that the plaintiff will have no trouble collecting his judgment. If the treasurer doesn't make out the check, he goes to jail.
So you would agree to give him a smaller settlement: the cops' houses?
I respect the job that cops do and have a best friend who's a cop. I know every situation can become out of hand for a cop and they must therefore go in loaded for bear. However,
Many times when I watch cops, I can't help but think how easy it would be for me to be in the same situation this guy was in. I don't sleep off booze in the yard, but I can say that anyone kicking my door in at night, or yanking open my car door screaming at me is likely to be met with a hail of bullets first. (assuming the person is in street clothes like many of the cops are on that show) Most of the time, a person has no shot at waking up to know first, who is making demands of them to comply, and second, for what reason this scary guy is in their face. How is an innocent person not going to wind up in a jam every time?? I saw this show on cops and the guy did nothing aggressive other than not showing his hands.
Too many times we read of cops hitting the wrong house or stopping the wrong guy. Yes cops are human and can make mistakes. It all just seems to be a lose/lose.
I guess if departments would just realize the mistake and make ammends rather than filing a bunch of charges to intimidate and in hopes that the victim would just be happy to be free again by them eventually dropping those charges.
I've never once been arrested or even detained, but I could certainly see myself winding up in jail for the same charges or worse, having done nothing but what I believed at the time was potecting my life and my family.
The closest I've come to anything like this was once my dog (a Shepherd mutt) was in the back of my open bed truck while I went into a convenience store. I came out to see a bum harassing my dog. I told the bum to leave her alone. She was still in the truck but barking. A cop pulled up and seeing my dog, immediately became confrontational, not knowing what had just happened, treated ME like I was causing trouble, and threated to shoot my dog. I thought he was joking. I smiled and said, " Oh, come, on, you wouldnt really do that would you.?" I immediately learned this cop wasnt kidding. He became beligerant and I was lucky to get away from there. On the way home it occurred to me how that situation could have turned so much worse.
I no longer let my dog ride in the back of my truck.
Cops have a tough job I know, but can't they be trained to immediately determine if all that hostility is necessary?
I don't guess there is a solution but it just sucks that we have to err on the side of wrecking an innocent person's life. Collateral damage should be avoided at all costs.
In this instance they had Hansen in the area of the crime and I have to wonder if they would have made as big a production out of it without the cameras and made this guy and his lawyer a cool million or two. If it was the right guy we wouldn't have heard about it but it was still a valid Terry stop. I think I'd of handled it differently and I wouldn't be anywhere near a camera crew.
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