Post by Shuftin on Sept 18, 2006 10:47:12 GMT -5
2006-09-17
EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA – An Easton man's lawsuit against the city and several of its police officers alleging police shot him as he tried to surrender after a 90-minute standoff in his home probably will go to trial.
A federal judge last week ruled against the city's legal arguments to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Michael Hogan and his wife two years after a February 2002 standoff in their W. Grant Street home.
''We're not surprised because there's significant evidence supporting what the lawsuit is all about, which is the police shooting someone who is surrendering,'' said Hogan's lawyer, Jordan B. Yeager of Doylestown.
The decision means the lawsuit will likely proceed to trial because city officials have been adamant about wanting to defend the officers and discourage additional police brutality lawsuits, which have cost the city and its insurance company more than $5.1 million since 2001.
''I'm quite sure there will be a trial, because I think the city feels extremely strongly the officers did absolutely nothing wrong,'' said David J. MacMain, the city's Philadelphia attorney. ''Everyone is on the same page, including the insurance company.''
U.S. District Judge John Padova has dismissed several of the officers and claims from the suit, but Yeager said the critical issue of whether police used unreasonable force by firing at Hogan remains for a jury to decide.
Hogan, who had a history of mental illness, had been drinking when he barricaded himself in the basement. His wife summoned police to their house, and Hogan threatened to shoot police and fired a shotgun into the basement wall.
When he emerged from the basement, he was shot in the abdomen, left hand and wrist and three of his right fingers, including the ring finger, which was amputated.
He pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to endangering the police and served time in jail.
''There are genuine issues of material fact as to whether Mr. Hogan posed a threat of serious physical harm at the time,'' Padova wrote. ''The undisputed facts demonstrate the shooting began less than a second after Mr. Hogan appeared at the top of the stairs, from which a reasonable juror could infer that the officers did not assess the situation and the threat posed.''
The judge has not yet ruled on the larger issue of whether the city — not just individual officers — could be held responsible because of its policies and practices or lack of them.
Legal briefs on that issue are due within 20 days, but it could take several months for the judge to issue a legal opinion. At that time, the case would be scheduled for trial.
''We were hoping he would dismiss the whole case, but…it does dismiss many of the claims and some of the defendants,'' MacMain said. ''And I think it's significant because it does very much narrow the case to only a couple claims.''
Three dismissed from suit
Officers Brian Herncane and Christopher Miller and retired Capt. Scheldon Smith were dismissed as defendants because they were not directly involved in the shooting. Lt. Steve Parkansky and Northampton County previously were dismissed.
The 41-page decision also dismissed claims the police used excessive force by restricting Hogan's freedom of movement in his house, entered the house illegally and delayed medical treatment.
The remaining defendants are the officers who fired weapons: David M. Beitler, Dominick Marraccini, John Remaley, Scott Casterline and retired Lt. Michael Orchulli.
Former Mayor Thomas F. Goldsmith and Police Chief Larry Palmer also remain as defendants, but they could be dismissed if the judge decides the city was not responsible for the individual officers' actions.
Hogan's lawsuit is one of two civil rights lawsuits remaining from Goldsmith's administration alleging police used excessive force. The other, filed by Devin L. Moore, was dismissed, but his lawyer, John P. Karoly Jr., is trying to revive it through an appeal to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mayor Phil Mitman, who took office in January 2004, has been trying to reform the department because of its history of being sued for police brutality starting in the late 1970s.
History of abuse fair game
If the city is not dismissed in Hogan's lawsuit, the department's history of abuse will go on trial as it did in the 2003 trial of three men attacked by police and their dogs after an Easton-Phillipsburg football game in 1997.
The jury issued a $1.3 million verdict to send a message that the department's history of misconduct needed to be investigated.
It was settled for $1.9 million to avoid additional legal fees and penalties, which could have been imposed because the city's insurance company, St. Paul Companies, did not settle the case earlier.
Because the insurance company ignored the wishes of city officials to settle the lawsuit, the insurance company was liable for all legal and settlement fees in that case.
When the city and insurance company mutually agree to settle a lawsuit, the insurance company will pay up to $1 million. So although there have been a half-dozen police brutality lawsuits settled since 2001, the city's only settlement payment for brutality has been $1.5 million to Jack W. Cuvo in 2005.
But with the city's financially distressed status, another large settlement could put it in even worse straits.
EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA – An Easton man's lawsuit against the city and several of its police officers alleging police shot him as he tried to surrender after a 90-minute standoff in his home probably will go to trial.
A federal judge last week ruled against the city's legal arguments to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Michael Hogan and his wife two years after a February 2002 standoff in their W. Grant Street home.
''We're not surprised because there's significant evidence supporting what the lawsuit is all about, which is the police shooting someone who is surrendering,'' said Hogan's lawyer, Jordan B. Yeager of Doylestown.
The decision means the lawsuit will likely proceed to trial because city officials have been adamant about wanting to defend the officers and discourage additional police brutality lawsuits, which have cost the city and its insurance company more than $5.1 million since 2001.
''I'm quite sure there will be a trial, because I think the city feels extremely strongly the officers did absolutely nothing wrong,'' said David J. MacMain, the city's Philadelphia attorney. ''Everyone is on the same page, including the insurance company.''
U.S. District Judge John Padova has dismissed several of the officers and claims from the suit, but Yeager said the critical issue of whether police used unreasonable force by firing at Hogan remains for a jury to decide.
Hogan, who had a history of mental illness, had been drinking when he barricaded himself in the basement. His wife summoned police to their house, and Hogan threatened to shoot police and fired a shotgun into the basement wall.
When he emerged from the basement, he was shot in the abdomen, left hand and wrist and three of his right fingers, including the ring finger, which was amputated.
He pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to endangering the police and served time in jail.
''There are genuine issues of material fact as to whether Mr. Hogan posed a threat of serious physical harm at the time,'' Padova wrote. ''The undisputed facts demonstrate the shooting began less than a second after Mr. Hogan appeared at the top of the stairs, from which a reasonable juror could infer that the officers did not assess the situation and the threat posed.''
The judge has not yet ruled on the larger issue of whether the city — not just individual officers — could be held responsible because of its policies and practices or lack of them.
Legal briefs on that issue are due within 20 days, but it could take several months for the judge to issue a legal opinion. At that time, the case would be scheduled for trial.
''We were hoping he would dismiss the whole case, but…it does dismiss many of the claims and some of the defendants,'' MacMain said. ''And I think it's significant because it does very much narrow the case to only a couple claims.''
Three dismissed from suit
Officers Brian Herncane and Christopher Miller and retired Capt. Scheldon Smith were dismissed as defendants because they were not directly involved in the shooting. Lt. Steve Parkansky and Northampton County previously were dismissed.
The 41-page decision also dismissed claims the police used excessive force by restricting Hogan's freedom of movement in his house, entered the house illegally and delayed medical treatment.
The remaining defendants are the officers who fired weapons: David M. Beitler, Dominick Marraccini, John Remaley, Scott Casterline and retired Lt. Michael Orchulli.
Former Mayor Thomas F. Goldsmith and Police Chief Larry Palmer also remain as defendants, but they could be dismissed if the judge decides the city was not responsible for the individual officers' actions.
Hogan's lawsuit is one of two civil rights lawsuits remaining from Goldsmith's administration alleging police used excessive force. The other, filed by Devin L. Moore, was dismissed, but his lawyer, John P. Karoly Jr., is trying to revive it through an appeal to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mayor Phil Mitman, who took office in January 2004, has been trying to reform the department because of its history of being sued for police brutality starting in the late 1970s.
History of abuse fair game
If the city is not dismissed in Hogan's lawsuit, the department's history of abuse will go on trial as it did in the 2003 trial of three men attacked by police and their dogs after an Easton-Phillipsburg football game in 1997.
The jury issued a $1.3 million verdict to send a message that the department's history of misconduct needed to be investigated.
It was settled for $1.9 million to avoid additional legal fees and penalties, which could have been imposed because the city's insurance company, St. Paul Companies, did not settle the case earlier.
Because the insurance company ignored the wishes of city officials to settle the lawsuit, the insurance company was liable for all legal and settlement fees in that case.
When the city and insurance company mutually agree to settle a lawsuit, the insurance company will pay up to $1 million. So although there have been a half-dozen police brutality lawsuits settled since 2001, the city's only settlement payment for brutality has been $1.5 million to Jack W. Cuvo in 2005.
But with the city's financially distressed status, another large settlement could put it in even worse straits.