Cop (unsuccessfully) sued department for releasing video of him abusing suspect
New video captures cop beating somebody else. He was fired,
reinstated, then fired.
DAVID KRAVETS -
A federal appeals court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a
fired Oklahoma police officer who sued his former department for damages after
the agency released a video of the officer roughing up a suspect. The officer,
Mike Denton, was fired and then reinstated with full back pay before being
fired again years later after another video surfaced of him allegedly using
excessive force on someone. Denton previously claimed the first video's release
was a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech and association.
The 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the former officer did
not prove that the release of the 2011 video by the Owasso Police Department
was done in retaliation. Denton had previously e-mailed fellow union members
urging them to reject a proposed collective bargaining agreement. But
ultimately, the court said that Denton proffered "unsubstantiated
allegations" (PDF).
The officer's suit, however, highlights that different people can
come to varying conclusions about the value of police video. This idea first
came to light with the Rodney King beating, but a similar split occurred with
videos in Charlotte, North Carolina and El Cajon, California just last week. In
this instance, Denton likely would not have found himself in hot water at all
if not for the initial video.
In the Denton matter, the police department gave the Tulsa World
video footage in 2011. Court documents describe this footage as Denton stepping
on a suspect's head and then positioning the suspect's arms so that he
"drove the suspect's face into the floor." What's more, the video
shows Denton elbowing "the suspect in the face three times."
Last year, the Owasso City Council agreed to settle the federal
civil rights lawsuit brought by the suspect whose abuse was caught on tape. The
city agreed to pay $75,000 to Bryan Spradlin, 30. Arrested at his wife's residence
on suspicion of intoxication, Spradlin claimed in his federal suit that he
"suffered from numerous injuries, including facial cellulitis, due to
Defendant's failure to secure immediate medical attention." The suit
claims he also "suffered severe humiliation and emotional distress due to
his abusive, demeaning, and humiliating treatment by the Officers."
Denton was fired in 2011 on allegations that he violated the
department's excessive force rules. An arbitrator reinstated the officer a year
later, ordering him to be given back pay and benefits totaling $283,000. Next,
a Tulsa judge concluded that reinstatement would pose a "special risk of
injury, physical and psychological, to citizens and, if he is allowed
reinstatement, the department will be faced with explaining why Owasso allows
abusive conduct by its officers, which is against the law." An Oklahoma
appeals panel reversed this decision, and the state's Supreme Court declined to
intervene—meaning that Denton returned to his job in 2014 with back pay plus
$47,000 in overtime and $36,000 in interest, according to the Tulsa World.
Now Denton has been fired again, and he's accused of using excessive
force on a second suspect, another incident captured on video. He faces an
assault trial beginning November 28. Denton is accused of pushing the barrel of
a shotgun through the window of a vehicle and repeatedly using that to strike
the suspect