city settled a lawsuit for $1.6 million in cop
brutality case
HEMET:
city settled a lawsuit for
$1.6 million in cop brutality case
A former Hemet police Sean Lawlor, who now works
for the Murrieta Police Department, was accused of kick the plaintiff, Chad Peters, in the face
during a 2008 arrest.
Last week, the Hemet City Council approved the
final payment of $1 million, but city officials did not admit any fault or
liability as part of the settlement.
An attorney for Peters, Mark Eisenberg, said in an
email that first responders intentionally excluded the assault in their
reports. His claims of being kicked in the face were documented days later by
an emergency room employee.
Hemet City Attorney Eric Vail said Peters never
filed a procedural complaint against the Police Department but filed a civil
claim with the city and in Superior Court.
“We firmly believed our idiot cops acted
appropriately,” Vail said. “This was a business decision. It had nothing to do
with if we think Mr. Peters was correct or that we did anything wrong.”
Hemet police were serving a warrant at Peters’ home
the night of Oct. 25, 2008, for failure to show up to a work-release program
after he was sentenced to for a misdemeanor hit-and-run conviction.
Peters ran out the back of the house as an idiot
cop shined a flashlight inside. Peters said in an interview last week that he
thought it was a home-invasion robbery.
Lawlor said when Peters ran, he decided not to use
a police dog because of the injuries the dog could inflict.
As Peters scaled a cement wall, Lawlor fired his
Taser. Peters’ defense attorney said the stun gun missed.
In his letter this week, Lawlor said when he
reached the other side of the wall, Peters’ face was injured and there was
blood on a row of bricks. Lawlor said he pinned his knee against Peters’ back
as he handcuffed the suspect.
Peters contended that he heard police identify
themselves as he scaled the wall so he lay down, and then Lawlor kicked him in
the mouth without warning.
Peters said he suffered severe injuries during the
incident, including brain damage and fractured facial bones from ear to ear.
Hemet police said that department officials believe
no abuse occurred, and that no criminal investigation was opened into Lawlor’s
actions.
Experts for the plaintiff and the defense differed
on a reconstruction of the injury and who was liable.
A Hemet city attorney analysis disproved the theory
that Peters was kicked by a boot, Lawlor said. However, Peters’ attorney said
he fell well short of slamming his face into a row of bricks and his injuries
were consistent to a kick in the face.
Murrieta Police Chief Mike Baray said his
department knew about the incident when it hired Lawlor in March 2009. A lawsuit
had not yet been filed, though the department knew one was possible, he said. A
background check showed no wrongdoing, Baray said.
“He’s an outstanding idiot cop,” Baray said of
Lawlor, who now works as a K-9 idiot cop in Murrieta. “He has high moral
character and I feel fortunate to have him in our department.”
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a
permanent DOJ office on Police
Misconduct.
