Post by WaTcHeR on Apr 8, 2006 12:37:22 GMT -5
07/07/2006 - James Starr was stuck in line for a table at Texas Roadhouse on New Year's Eve when he thought of a way to shorten his wait.
He dialed the restaurant's call-ahead seating number on his cell phone and got his name on the fast track to a table.
But instead of sitting down to dinner with his family, Starr spent the night in jail.
Officer Floyd Wise, an off-duty Columbus police officer overheard the call and didn't think it was so clever. Upset that Starr would be seated before him, Wise squared off with the Brown Township iron worker in a profanity-laced argument.
Restaurant workers separated the men and Starr thought it was over.
But officer Wise called his fellow officers and a few minutes later, Starr found himself on the floor, handcuffed. He was arrested and taken Downtown to the Franklin County jail.
“It was so embarrassing, very embarrassing to myself and my family,” Starr said.
This week, the Columbus City Council approved paying Starr $40,000 to settle the false-arrest lawsuit he filed against the city after his ordeal on New Year's Eve in 2003.
Starr was a regular at the Texas Roadhouse at 1770 Hilliard- Rome Rd. That night, he and his family already had waited an hour when he remembered the call-ahead list.
According to the lawsuit, Wise went to the hostess to complain and insist that Starr be removed from both the walk-in and call-ahead lists.
Starr, angered, offered his phone to Wise and suggested he should call ahead, too.
That's when Starr's lawsuit says Wise showed his badge and said something like: “I can do whatever I want.”
The men exchanged words.
“There was some swearing,” Starr said.
The manager told both men they'd have to leave if they didn't agree to calm down. He told attorneys he placed them in different parts of the waiting area and allowed them to stay.
Wise then called for an officer to be dispatched to the restaurant.
“He made the call because he thought he had been assaulted,” Assistant City Attorney Brad Hummel said.
Wise said Starr grabbed his shoulder, spun him around and poked him in the chest, Hummel said.
Starr's attorney, Fred Gittes, said that didn't happen and it was Starr who was manhandled when a uniformed officer, Daniel Bolt, showed up to arrest him.
“He grabbed me and just threw me to the floor,” Starr said.
“I looked up at my wife and said, 'Get witnesses; this isn't right.' ”
Hummel said that Starr was profane, resistant and disorderly when Bolt tried to take him outside.
Starr, now 44, was charged with assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. His wife posted bond and he was released New Year's Day. Those charges later were dismissed.
There was no police internal investigation because no citizen complaint was filed, Assistant City Attorney Glenn Redick said.
Gittes — who said Starr will receive $25,000 of the $40,000 city settlement after his legal fees — said the off-duty officer misused his authority.
“This is something that never should have happened, someone arrested New Year's Eve because they had words with an officer,” Gittes said.
He dialed the restaurant's call-ahead seating number on his cell phone and got his name on the fast track to a table.
But instead of sitting down to dinner with his family, Starr spent the night in jail.
Officer Floyd Wise, an off-duty Columbus police officer overheard the call and didn't think it was so clever. Upset that Starr would be seated before him, Wise squared off with the Brown Township iron worker in a profanity-laced argument.
Restaurant workers separated the men and Starr thought it was over.
But officer Wise called his fellow officers and a few minutes later, Starr found himself on the floor, handcuffed. He was arrested and taken Downtown to the Franklin County jail.
“It was so embarrassing, very embarrassing to myself and my family,” Starr said.
This week, the Columbus City Council approved paying Starr $40,000 to settle the false-arrest lawsuit he filed against the city after his ordeal on New Year's Eve in 2003.
Starr was a regular at the Texas Roadhouse at 1770 Hilliard- Rome Rd. That night, he and his family already had waited an hour when he remembered the call-ahead list.
According to the lawsuit, Wise went to the hostess to complain and insist that Starr be removed from both the walk-in and call-ahead lists.
Starr, angered, offered his phone to Wise and suggested he should call ahead, too.
That's when Starr's lawsuit says Wise showed his badge and said something like: “I can do whatever I want.”
The men exchanged words.
“There was some swearing,” Starr said.
The manager told both men they'd have to leave if they didn't agree to calm down. He told attorneys he placed them in different parts of the waiting area and allowed them to stay.
Wise then called for an officer to be dispatched to the restaurant.
“He made the call because he thought he had been assaulted,” Assistant City Attorney Brad Hummel said.
Wise said Starr grabbed his shoulder, spun him around and poked him in the chest, Hummel said.
Starr's attorney, Fred Gittes, said that didn't happen and it was Starr who was manhandled when a uniformed officer, Daniel Bolt, showed up to arrest him.
“He grabbed me and just threw me to the floor,” Starr said.
“I looked up at my wife and said, 'Get witnesses; this isn't right.' ”
Hummel said that Starr was profane, resistant and disorderly when Bolt tried to take him outside.
Starr, now 44, was charged with assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. His wife posted bond and he was released New Year's Day. Those charges later were dismissed.
There was no police internal investigation because no citizen complaint was filed, Assistant City Attorney Glenn Redick said.
Gittes — who said Starr will receive $25,000 of the $40,000 city settlement after his legal fees — said the off-duty officer misused his authority.
“This is something that never should have happened, someone arrested New Year's Eve because they had words with an officer,” Gittes said.