phill4paul
03-27-2014, 06:29 PM
How just walking along the side of the road can go south quickly.......
The Dallas City Council agreed Wednesday to pay $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit with a man who claimed he was unfairly beaten by a Dallas police officer and unjustly jailed for 15 months.
The hefty settlement came after a 2011 Dallas police internal affairs investigation in the case found no wrongdoing by any officers despite finding “inconsistencies between the video evidence” and the police report. Chief David Brown said he doesn’t believe the case is as bad as defense attorneys made it out to be but said it wouldn’t have played well before a jury.
But Dallas lawyer Don Tittle, who represented Ronald Bernard Jones, said the suit should be cause for alarm.
“When the city pays more than $1 million to settle a civil rights case, there should be a serious investigation,” Tittle said. “You can count the number of settlements of that magnitude on one hand. It involved multiple officers, it involved turning off videos, it involved fabricating arrest reports and testimony.
“To me, that’s as serious as it gets.”
Jones was arrested and charged with two felonies — which were later dismissed — after he was stopped while walking on Dec. 18, 2009, on Reunion Boulevard by Officer Matthew Antkowiak.
The officer was in a squad car and was supposed to be responding to a call about two white males. Jones is black and was walking alone.
A police report stated that Jones threw an open beer can at Antkowiak, which is not verified by the video. Tittle said Jones had no alcohol or drugs in his system.
An arrest warrant affidavit alleges that Jones grabbed Antkowiak “by his throat, choking him and lifting him off the ground.” The report also states that
Jones kicked the officer in the groin while still choking him. The struggle lead to the officer kicking Jones’ feet out from under him and Jones pulling him to the ground, the officer said.
The footage, however, shows that Jones turned around slightly and Antkowiak threw him onto the hood of the car and then to the ground.
The officer also claimed that Jones resisted handcuffs and “began to stand up with Antkowiak still on his back,” according to the affidavit. But that never happened either.
Other officers arrived and threw kicks and punches while struggling with Jones. They told internal investigators that Antkowiak was shouting that Jones had a knife and appeared to be reaching for his pocket. He was not armed.
Another officer claimed he found a drug pipe, fashioned from an antenna, under the squad car. But that moment wasn’t captured on video because the one squad car pointed directly at Antkowiak’s car was turned off. Tittle said an officer can be heard in the video telling another to turn off the camera.
Jones was arrested and charged with aggravated assault of a public servant and cocaine possession, both felonies. His Dallas County Jail mugshot shows his left eye swollen shut.
But Brown said Jones was “really super strong” and required several officers to get him under control.
“The story plays out as if this gentleman was abused, but Antkowiak had to be rushed to the hospital after this fight with him,” Brown said.
The charges against Jones were dismissed in March 2011 “due in part to inadequate testimony preparation” by Antkowiak, according to the investigation.
The prosecutor handling the case said it was “not triable.”
Jones had been jailed the entire time. Tittle, who praised the efforts of court-appointed defense attorney Matt Arnold, said Jones turned down multiple plea deals. (Good for him. p4p)
The dismissal launched the internal affairs investigation. Antkowiak resigned from the department in January 2012.
Brown said the internal affairs investigation and jury trials are different. The city used focus groups to judge whether to continue with the case. The results weren’t positive, he said.
Still, he said, the department has policies in place now that will help prevent future incidents. For instance, he said, had the officers been equipped with Tasers, the struggle might have ended quickly. (Yeah, an innocent man would have been tased instead of beaten. p4p)
The department is also field-testing body cameras and making efforts to ramp up in-service training. (Body camaras? How about just requiring your officers to turn the ones in their cruisers on? p4p)
Before the City Council’s vote Wednesday, council member Philip Kingston cautioned that the department needed to remember such large payouts. Brown said he has noticed a seeming increase in the number of big-dollar lawsuits against the department recently.
“We need to continue to be firm with our discipline policies and training and to try to avoid those kinds of outcomes where we end up having to pay out,” he said.
But Tittle said the payout isn’t the real problem. Jones, he said, had to spend 15 months in jail “for something he didn’t do.”
“I doubt the money makes up for that.”
Video @: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20140326-dallas-police-dash-camera-video-shows-incident-that-led-to-man-s-1.1m-settlement-with-city.ece
The Dallas City Council agreed Wednesday to pay $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit with a man who claimed he was unfairly beaten by a Dallas police officer and unjustly jailed for 15 months.
The hefty settlement came after a 2011 Dallas police internal affairs investigation in the case found no wrongdoing by any officers despite finding “inconsistencies between the video evidence” and the police report. Chief David Brown said he doesn’t believe the case is as bad as defense attorneys made it out to be but said it wouldn’t have played well before a jury.
But Dallas lawyer Don Tittle, who represented Ronald Bernard Jones, said the suit should be cause for alarm.
“When the city pays more than $1 million to settle a civil rights case, there should be a serious investigation,” Tittle said. “You can count the number of settlements of that magnitude on one hand. It involved multiple officers, it involved turning off videos, it involved fabricating arrest reports and testimony.
“To me, that’s as serious as it gets.”
Jones was arrested and charged with two felonies — which were later dismissed — after he was stopped while walking on Dec. 18, 2009, on Reunion Boulevard by Officer Matthew Antkowiak.
The officer was in a squad car and was supposed to be responding to a call about two white males. Jones is black and was walking alone.
A police report stated that Jones threw an open beer can at Antkowiak, which is not verified by the video. Tittle said Jones had no alcohol or drugs in his system.
An arrest warrant affidavit alleges that Jones grabbed Antkowiak “by his throat, choking him and lifting him off the ground.” The report also states that
Jones kicked the officer in the groin while still choking him. The struggle lead to the officer kicking Jones’ feet out from under him and Jones pulling him to the ground, the officer said.
The footage, however, shows that Jones turned around slightly and Antkowiak threw him onto the hood of the car and then to the ground.
The officer also claimed that Jones resisted handcuffs and “began to stand up with Antkowiak still on his back,” according to the affidavit. But that never happened either.
Other officers arrived and threw kicks and punches while struggling with Jones. They told internal investigators that Antkowiak was shouting that Jones had a knife and appeared to be reaching for his pocket. He was not armed.
Another officer claimed he found a drug pipe, fashioned from an antenna, under the squad car. But that moment wasn’t captured on video because the one squad car pointed directly at Antkowiak’s car was turned off. Tittle said an officer can be heard in the video telling another to turn off the camera.
Jones was arrested and charged with aggravated assault of a public servant and cocaine possession, both felonies. His Dallas County Jail mugshot shows his left eye swollen shut.
But Brown said Jones was “really super strong” and required several officers to get him under control.
“The story plays out as if this gentleman was abused, but Antkowiak had to be rushed to the hospital after this fight with him,” Brown said.
The charges against Jones were dismissed in March 2011 “due in part to inadequate testimony preparation” by Antkowiak, according to the investigation.
The prosecutor handling the case said it was “not triable.”
Jones had been jailed the entire time. Tittle, who praised the efforts of court-appointed defense attorney Matt Arnold, said Jones turned down multiple plea deals. (Good for him. p4p)
The dismissal launched the internal affairs investigation. Antkowiak resigned from the department in January 2012.
Brown said the internal affairs investigation and jury trials are different. The city used focus groups to judge whether to continue with the case. The results weren’t positive, he said.
Still, he said, the department has policies in place now that will help prevent future incidents. For instance, he said, had the officers been equipped with Tasers, the struggle might have ended quickly. (Yeah, an innocent man would have been tased instead of beaten. p4p)
The department is also field-testing body cameras and making efforts to ramp up in-service training. (Body camaras? How about just requiring your officers to turn the ones in their cruisers on? p4p)
Before the City Council’s vote Wednesday, council member Philip Kingston cautioned that the department needed to remember such large payouts. Brown said he has noticed a seeming increase in the number of big-dollar lawsuits against the department recently.
“We need to continue to be firm with our discipline policies and training and to try to avoid those kinds of outcomes where we end up having to pay out,” he said.
But Tittle said the payout isn’t the real problem. Jones, he said, had to spend 15 months in jail “for something he didn’t do.”
“I doubt the money makes up for that.”
Video @: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20140326-dallas-police-dash-camera-video-shows-incident-that-led-to-man-s-1.1m-settlement-with-city.ece