2013年7月13日 星期六

Police officer, union sue city over arrest video

Source: Pioneer Press, St.self storage Paul, Minn.July 13--An officer seen in a squad car video during the arrest of Eric Hightower is suing the city for releasing the video, as is the police union.Officer Matthew Gorans, who is facing termination because of actions shown in the video, and the St. Paul Police Federation claim the department's decision to release the video to the public violates a Minnesota statute. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.St. Paul City Attorney Sara Grewing said Friday she had no comment on the lawsuit.A widely viewed YouTube video taken by a bystander showed officer Jesse Zilge deliver a kick to Hightower while he was on the ground during his arrest last August, but the squad car video released by the police department this week was the first public view of actions taken by Gorans, who also was investigated in the case.In a lawsuit served on the city but not filed in court, Goran and the union claim the squad video never should have been released because of a statute called the Peace Officer Discipline Procedures Act, part of which states, "No law enforcement agency or governmental unit may publicly release photographs of an officer without the written permission of the officer."The police department released the video showing Gorans, along with squad videos of other responding officers, in response to media requests.Union president Dave Titus and attorney Chris Wachtler took issue Friday with a Pioneer Press article about the video, which said Gorans pepper-sprayedHightower in the ear. If the officer sprayed Hightower in the ear, Titus said, it was unintentional."To jump to the conclusion that he's filling his ear with Mace is blatantly wrong," Wachtler said.The internal affairs investigation into Hightower's arrest contains "video representations of certain act迷你倉ons taken by Officer Gorans during the arrest of Hightower," the lawsuit's complaint said. The complaint also states the video was released over objections by Goran and the union, who requested "that at the very least Officer Gorans' face be pixilated so that he could not be identified."Prosecutors who reviewed the case declined to file charges against Gorans or Zilge, but according to sources, Chief Thomas Smith recently decided to fire Gorans and suspend Zilge for 30 days. The discipline isn't final, however, because the officers are going through the union grievance process. They remain listed as St. Paul police employees.The squad car video shows Gorans pulling Hightower into the car by the hair and pepper-spraying him. Hightower was resisting being placed in the squad car when Gorans stepped in, according to the prosecutors who reviewed the case. A review by the Minneapolis city attorney's office said, "The force used by Officer Gorans appears to be an authorized use of force, necessary to effectuate" Hightower's arrest.Police were arresting Hightower, 31, on Aug. 28 after he allegedly threatened to kill an ex-girlfriend. Hightower pleaded guilty in May to gross misdemeanor domestic assault and is to be sentenced July 18. He is in prison for violating probation on an unrelated 2011 assault charge.Wachtler has said officers in the case were "dealing with a known dangerous individual who refused to follow directives, at a time when very dangerous conditions posed a threat to officer safety."Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried or twitter.com/ppUsualSuspects.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) Visit the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) at www.twincities.com Distributed by MCT Information Services文件倉

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