Post by KC on Jan 28, 2007 23:16:48 GMT -5
DURHAM -- Former Durham police officer Michael Aultman must pay $280,000 to a man he handcuffed and beat for personal reasons while on duty, in uniform and driving a city patrol car, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith -- the judge handling the Duke lacrosse case -- divided the award into $30,000 for compensatory damages and the remaining $250,000, the largest amount allowable, for punitive damages.
Aultman and the man who sued him, Jesse Lee Dixon, were not in court Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
Aultman is personally liable for the money. The city once was a defendant in the case but was released last year after a defense lawyer argued that Aultman acted in violation of police regulations and that his crimes arose from a personal dispute having nothing to do with professional duties.
Attorney Alexander Charns, representing Dixon, described his client's beating Tuesday as "one of the most heinous cases of police brutality and abuse of authority I've been involved with in more than 20 years."
Charns said Aultman was "a rogue cop with a badge" and had "besmirched the badge for everyone. He's tarnished the reputation of all good cops."
Aultman left the Police Department when an internal investigation found he had used improper force and engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer during the 2002 Dixon incident.
He subsequently was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to kidnapping and assaulting Dixon.
Aultman remains on probation and now works as a long-distance trucker.
Tuesday's six-figure punitive damages award should "send a message to all law-enforcement officers that the oath they take and the badge they wear mean something," Charns added. "If they don't enforce the law and become lawbreakers, they'll be penalized like anyone else."
Charns said a $280,000 judgment against Aultman would be filed immediately, would go on his credit report and would be easily accessible to anyone thinking about lending money to the ex-officer.
Another lawyer in the case, Cole Williams, said Aultman apparently thought he could get away with the beating because Dixon was a "perfect victim:" one who might not be believed because of mental-health and drug-abuse issues.
But Aultman got caught when blood on his gloves was DNA-matched to Dixon, according to Charns and Williams.
In his lawsuit, Dixon contended that Aultman handcuffed and abducted him in a police cruiser on June 14, 2002, drove him to a remote location and beat, choked and punched him. At one point, Aultman put his police pistol to Dixon's head and threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the attack, the suit said.
Reports indicated that Dixon, who was homeless, had been sleeping on the street near a warehouse Aultman was renovating in his off-duty hours.
Aultman offered Dixon work on the project, then apparently became enraged after some tools, CDs and a CD player went missing.
"I was caught up in anger," Aultman admitted in a sworn deposition.
www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-809805.cfm
Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith -- the judge handling the Duke lacrosse case -- divided the award into $30,000 for compensatory damages and the remaining $250,000, the largest amount allowable, for punitive damages.
Aultman and the man who sued him, Jesse Lee Dixon, were not in court Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
Aultman is personally liable for the money. The city once was a defendant in the case but was released last year after a defense lawyer argued that Aultman acted in violation of police regulations and that his crimes arose from a personal dispute having nothing to do with professional duties.
Attorney Alexander Charns, representing Dixon, described his client's beating Tuesday as "one of the most heinous cases of police brutality and abuse of authority I've been involved with in more than 20 years."
Charns said Aultman was "a rogue cop with a badge" and had "besmirched the badge for everyone. He's tarnished the reputation of all good cops."
Aultman left the Police Department when an internal investigation found he had used improper force and engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer during the 2002 Dixon incident.
He subsequently was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to kidnapping and assaulting Dixon.
Aultman remains on probation and now works as a long-distance trucker.
Tuesday's six-figure punitive damages award should "send a message to all law-enforcement officers that the oath they take and the badge they wear mean something," Charns added. "If they don't enforce the law and become lawbreakers, they'll be penalized like anyone else."
Charns said a $280,000 judgment against Aultman would be filed immediately, would go on his credit report and would be easily accessible to anyone thinking about lending money to the ex-officer.
Another lawyer in the case, Cole Williams, said Aultman apparently thought he could get away with the beating because Dixon was a "perfect victim:" one who might not be believed because of mental-health and drug-abuse issues.
But Aultman got caught when blood on his gloves was DNA-matched to Dixon, according to Charns and Williams.
In his lawsuit, Dixon contended that Aultman handcuffed and abducted him in a police cruiser on June 14, 2002, drove him to a remote location and beat, choked and punched him. At one point, Aultman put his police pistol to Dixon's head and threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the attack, the suit said.
Reports indicated that Dixon, who was homeless, had been sleeping on the street near a warehouse Aultman was renovating in his off-duty hours.
Aultman offered Dixon work on the project, then apparently became enraged after some tools, CDs and a CD player went missing.
"I was caught up in anger," Aultman admitted in a sworn deposition.
www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-809805.cfm