Post by WaTcHeR on Feb 9, 2007 12:03:52 GMT -5
OAKLAND -- The city of Oakland has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle two police-misconduct lawsuits involving the use of pepper spray, including one filed by a man who said he was injured when he fell from a tree after being doused.
Both settlements were approved Tuesday by the Oakland City Council.
Shawn Wrigley, who is in his mid-30s, will receive $300,000 from the city, his attorney, Wayne Johnson of Oakland, said today.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Wrigley said he fell 30 feet from a tree and suffered skull and pelvic fractures when Officer Mark Chinen sprayed him with the chemical weapon on Feb. 11, 2005.
The incident happened when officers responded to reports of a prowler
about 4 a.m. and found Wrigley up in a tree in the resident's backyard on the 3900 block of Canon Avenue in the city's Dimond district, city officials said.
Sgt. David Faeth and Chinen used unreasonable force to arrest him, said the suit, which had sought $1.5 million in damages. Faeth, a trained hostage negotiator, failed to try to negotiate with Wrigley and convince plaintiff to climb down from the tree," said the suit.
Instead, Wrigley got sprayed and fell 30 feet, Johnson said. "I think that's a completely dangerous situation," he said. "It seems like you could wait. You have unlimited time to wait for a person to come out or fall out."
The city, which was sued along with Faeth and Chinen, denied any wrongdoing. "Plaintiff, who was up in the tree, ignored repeated orders to come down," Deputy City Attorney Pelayo Llamas wrote in court papers. "After a lapse of time, and after plaintiff made threatening movements toward the officers, plaintiff was sprayed once with (pepper spray) and it had no apparent effect. After more time passed, plaintiff fell or jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground."
Wrigley was treated for his injuries at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Doctors inserted a metal plate in his head and performed hip-replacement surgery, according to Johnson.
In a separate case, the council also agreed to pay $50,000 to Hodari Toure, who alleged that police used excessive force and caused him to have an asthma attack when they arrested him in March 2004. Toure said he was hit with a flashlight and doused with pepper spray.
sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/08/BAGH1O17BG45.DTL
Both settlements were approved Tuesday by the Oakland City Council.
Shawn Wrigley, who is in his mid-30s, will receive $300,000 from the city, his attorney, Wayne Johnson of Oakland, said today.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Wrigley said he fell 30 feet from a tree and suffered skull and pelvic fractures when Officer Mark Chinen sprayed him with the chemical weapon on Feb. 11, 2005.
The incident happened when officers responded to reports of a prowler
about 4 a.m. and found Wrigley up in a tree in the resident's backyard on the 3900 block of Canon Avenue in the city's Dimond district, city officials said.
Sgt. David Faeth and Chinen used unreasonable force to arrest him, said the suit, which had sought $1.5 million in damages. Faeth, a trained hostage negotiator, failed to try to negotiate with Wrigley and convince plaintiff to climb down from the tree," said the suit.
Instead, Wrigley got sprayed and fell 30 feet, Johnson said. "I think that's a completely dangerous situation," he said. "It seems like you could wait. You have unlimited time to wait for a person to come out or fall out."
The city, which was sued along with Faeth and Chinen, denied any wrongdoing. "Plaintiff, who was up in the tree, ignored repeated orders to come down," Deputy City Attorney Pelayo Llamas wrote in court papers. "After a lapse of time, and after plaintiff made threatening movements toward the officers, plaintiff was sprayed once with (pepper spray) and it had no apparent effect. After more time passed, plaintiff fell or jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground."
Wrigley was treated for his injuries at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Doctors inserted a metal plate in his head and performed hip-replacement surgery, according to Johnson.
In a separate case, the council also agreed to pay $50,000 to Hodari Toure, who alleged that police used excessive force and caused him to have an asthma attack when they arrested him in March 2004. Toure said he was hit with a flashlight and doused with pepper spray.
sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/08/BAGH1O17BG45.DTL