Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 14, 2006 13:41:27 GMT -5
11.14.2006 - SOUTH BERWICK, Maine -- A lawsuit alleging police brutality by a Maine state trooper and a South Berwick officer was "a case about a groin squeeze," according to attorney William Fisher, who defended the trooper.
Had the case not been settled for $50,000, Fisher said Thursday, he planned to use the trial to establish a law making "uncomfortable" groin touches during police pat-downs constitutionally valid.
The case began July 17, 2004, when Daniel Royer, 44, of Beaver Dam Road, was arrested following a scuffle with State Trooper Stephen Shea and South Berwick Officer Richard deRochemont. In a subsequent lawsuit, Royer alleged he was reading his mail in his girlfriend's parked Buick, when Shea, who was reportedly off-duty but on-call, approached his car, harassed and assaulted him.
DeRochemont, who was called for backup, was also accused by Royer of assaulting and injuring him, while South Berwick Officer Ernest Gove III allegedly later filed a false report to protect his fellow officers.
Royer claimed injuries left him unable to work full-time, and the case was scheduled for trial when the $50,000 settlement was reached. Fisher said the state paid Royer $45,000 and South Berwick's police insurance provider paid $5,000.
While Royer claimed to have suffered injuries during the scuffle that led to his arrest, Fisher said a judge found the officers used reasonable force, with the exception of Royer's claim that his genitals were squeezed "too hard" during a pat-down by Trooper Shea.
"Judge Cohen found deRochemont and Shea used reasonable force, were it not for the allegation of squeezed testicles," said Fisher. "So this case was going to trial on a groin squeeze."
Fisher, employed by the Maine attorney general's office, said he hoped to try the case in the First Circuit Court of Appeals to establish a law saying a one- or two-second groin touch, even if it makes the subject uncomfortable, is constitutionally allowed.
"I didn't think for a moment that Trooper Shea did anything wrong," said Fisher. "Virtually anybody can sue a public official as long as he has a lawyer willing to take the case."
Royer's attorney, Brian Stern, told the Herald the settlement was significant because in police misconduct cases, police officers "are given a lot of leeway."
"In essence, we won with regard to false arrest and unreasonable force," said Stern.
Royer's original suit, filed Aug. 2, 2005, claimed illegal arrest, false imprisonment, unreasonable force, denial of his freedom of speech, invasion of privacy, assault and battery, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and conspiracy to violate his civil rights.
www.seacoastonline.com/news/11102006/mainenews-ph-sb-cop.suit2.html
Had the case not been settled for $50,000, Fisher said Thursday, he planned to use the trial to establish a law making "uncomfortable" groin touches during police pat-downs constitutionally valid.
The case began July 17, 2004, when Daniel Royer, 44, of Beaver Dam Road, was arrested following a scuffle with State Trooper Stephen Shea and South Berwick Officer Richard deRochemont. In a subsequent lawsuit, Royer alleged he was reading his mail in his girlfriend's parked Buick, when Shea, who was reportedly off-duty but on-call, approached his car, harassed and assaulted him.
DeRochemont, who was called for backup, was also accused by Royer of assaulting and injuring him, while South Berwick Officer Ernest Gove III allegedly later filed a false report to protect his fellow officers.
Royer claimed injuries left him unable to work full-time, and the case was scheduled for trial when the $50,000 settlement was reached. Fisher said the state paid Royer $45,000 and South Berwick's police insurance provider paid $5,000.
While Royer claimed to have suffered injuries during the scuffle that led to his arrest, Fisher said a judge found the officers used reasonable force, with the exception of Royer's claim that his genitals were squeezed "too hard" during a pat-down by Trooper Shea.
"Judge Cohen found deRochemont and Shea used reasonable force, were it not for the allegation of squeezed testicles," said Fisher. "So this case was going to trial on a groin squeeze."
Fisher, employed by the Maine attorney general's office, said he hoped to try the case in the First Circuit Court of Appeals to establish a law saying a one- or two-second groin touch, even if it makes the subject uncomfortable, is constitutionally allowed.
"I didn't think for a moment that Trooper Shea did anything wrong," said Fisher. "Virtually anybody can sue a public official as long as he has a lawyer willing to take the case."
Royer's attorney, Brian Stern, told the Herald the settlement was significant because in police misconduct cases, police officers "are given a lot of leeway."
"In essence, we won with regard to false arrest and unreasonable force," said Stern.
Royer's original suit, filed Aug. 2, 2005, claimed illegal arrest, false imprisonment, unreasonable force, denial of his freedom of speech, invasion of privacy, assault and battery, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and conspiracy to violate his civil rights.
www.seacoastonline.com/news/11102006/mainenews-ph-sb-cop.suit2.html