The city of St. Paul has agreed to pay $90,000 to two men who say they were victims of excessive police force.
Last July, two officers restrained and handcuffed Craig Spelbrink and Robert Geistfield in a St. Paul parking garage. The two men sued the officers, alleging there was no cause for the arrest.
"I think it's clear from the video evidence that neither man was posing a threat to the officers, neither man was trying to resist the efforts of the officers, neither man was trying to flee," says Jeff Storms, attorney for Spelbrink and Geistfield. "To use that type of force on really passive, reasonable citizens is unreasonable and unconstitutional."
On the night of the incident, the two men were celebrating a friend's birthday at the Eagle Street Grille, according to the civil complaint. They left the bar around 12:30, and decided to grab a cab home because they had been drinking. But first they had to pick up a few things from a friend's truck in a nearby parking ramp.
Surveillance footage from the parking garage shows that Spelbrink lost his friends somewhere along the way. While looking for them, he encountered the two officers -- Matthew Sweeney and David Stokes -- who forcibly brought him to the ground.
The camera is partially obstructed, so it's hard to see exactly what happened next, but the lawsuit says Stokes "struck" Spelbrink in the face, causing a Craniofacial injury.
Sweeney continued up the stairs, where he encountered Geistfeld. Within seconds, Sweeney grabbed Geistfeld, wrestled him to the ground, and cuffed him.
"By just taking those men to the ground, not giving them an opportunity to comply, that violated the Fourth Amendment," says Storms. "In fact, the way they conducted that stop was so intrusive and without probable cause that it really amounts to a false arrest."
In police reports, the two officers recount different versions of how the incident played out. Stokes says they were flagged down by a man outside the parking garage, who told them a "white male with a red shirt had been robbed and was chasing the suspect." The officer also notes they could hear "sounds of yelling and swearing and fighting." He and Sweeney entered the ramp and saw Spelbrink -- a white guy wearing a red shirt -- coming down the stairs. "We ordered him to the ground and when he did not comply, we took him to the ground," writes Stokes.
But according to Sweeney's report, the man wearing a red shirt was the suspect -- not the victim. From the report:
"When I arrived on scene Officer Stokes was speaking to the complainant who told us a male in a red shirt had just robbed a male in a white shirt. While Officer Stokes was getting further information from the complainant, we heard a commotion coming from the second floor of the parking ramp. We heard a vehicle horn sounding and male voices yelling at each other."
The two officers entered the parking garage, where they found Spelbrink coming down the stairs. Sweeney reports that Spelbrink tried to break free after they got him on the ground.
After Sweeney continued upstairs, he ran into Geistfeld. Here's Sweeney's explanation of what happened next:
"I didn't know if the male was the suspect, the victim or something else. I yelled at him to get on the ground. The male stopped in his tracks and looked at me with wide eyes and a blank thousand yard stare. It appeared to me the male was thinking of either running or fighting with me. After yelling at him to get on the ground for the second time with no response, I shoved the male in his chest with both hands."
Sweeney concludes the report by noting that, after everyone settled down, they discovered that the two men were "heavily intoxicated" friends who were "play fighting."
The officers brought Spelbrink to detox, where he spent 25 hours. Neither man was charged with a crime. In the lawsuit, filed last October, the two men deny that there was any fight.
The St. Paul City Council planned to approve the $90,000 settlement at its meeting Wednesday afternoon.
"It allows us and the police officers to put the allegations to rest, concentrate on keeping St. Paul safe," says St. Paul City Attorney Sara Grewing. "Police officers protect the public and often make difficult and split-second decisions that may not be easily measured."
Grewing notes that the settlement doesn't mean the city is admitting guilt. "At this point, it's just resolving the case."
Prosecutors learned Wednesday that a former Frankfort police officer had recorded several conversations in 2010 that he says may corroborate his reasons for seizing the cell phone records of another officer at the time.
Former officer Daniel Herrman’s defense attorney, Michael Daley, revealed that the recorded conversations exist, and Daley agreed to turn over those conversations to Herkimer County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Carpenter.
Herrman, 39, is currently charged with felony forgery and official misconduct for requesting fellow officer Samuel Ameduri III’s phone records from Verizon Wireless in 2010.
Prosecutors say Herrman illegally seized Ameduri’s records by falsifying emergency request forms. Herrman, however, maintains that he only did what he thought was necessary in response to reports that Ameduri had been making violent threats against one or more people, Daley has said.
Herrman also says he was looking into those reports at the request of Frankfort Mayor Frank Moracco, Daley said.
Ameduri denies ever threatening anyone. His phone records, however, were requested by Herrman shortly after Ameduri accused then-Frankfort police Chief Steven Conley of choking him during a heated argument in February 2010.
Following a brief appearance in Herkimer County Court Wednesday, Carpenter said he is curious to hear what is said in those recorded conversations.
“Herrman’s attorney disclosed to me today that he has those recordings, and I wasn’t aware of that until now,” Carpenter said. “I don’t know what they say.”
Although Daley said the conversations may shed light on Herrman’s actions, he would not discuss the details of the conversations or who they involve.
“We have some evidence that we believe supports Herrman’s position that’s in the form of tape-recorded conversations, and we’re going to provide that to the prosecutors,” said Daley, a former Herkimer County district attorney and state Supreme Court justice.
In exchange, Daley has asked that prosecutors let him view all the phone records that were ultimately released by Verizon Wireless. Daley said he believes those records may also corroborate Herrman’s defense that he requested those records for the sake of everyone’s safety.
Prosecutors learned Wednesday that a former Frankfort police officer had recorded several conversations in 2010 that he says may corroborate his reasons for seizing the cell phone records of another officer at the time.
Former officer Daniel Herrman’s defense attorney, Michael Daley, revealed that the recorded conversations exist, and Daley agreed to turn over those conversations to Herkimer County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Carpenter.
Herrman, 39, is currently charged with felony forgery and official misconduct for requesting fellow officer Samuel Ameduri III’s phone records from Verizon Wireless in 2010.
Prosecutors say Herrman illegally seized Ameduri’s records by falsifying emergency request forms. Herrman, however, maintains that he only did what he thought was necessary in response to reports that Ameduri had been making violent threats against one or more people, Daley has said.
Herrman also says he was looking into those reports at the request of Frankfort Mayor Frank Moracco, Daley said.
Ameduri denies ever threatening anyone. His phone records, however, were requested by Herrman shortly after Ameduri accused then-Frankfort police Chief Steven Conley of choking him during a heated argument in February 2010.
Following a brief appearance in Herkimer County Court Wednesday, Carpenter said he is curious to hear what is said in those recorded conversations.
“Herrman’s attorney disclosed to me today that he has those recordings, and I wasn’t aware of that until now,” Carpenter said. “I don’t know what they say.”
Although Daley said the conversations may shed light on Herrman’s actions, he would not discuss the details of the conversations or who they involve.
“We have some evidence that we believe supports Herrman’s position that’s in the form of tape-recorded conversations, and we’re going to provide that to the prosecutors,” said Daley, a former Herkimer County district attorney and state Supreme Court justice.
In exchange, Daley has asked that prosecutors let him view all the phone records that were ultimately released by Verizon Wireless. Daley said he believes those records may also corroborate Herrman’s defense that he requested those records for the sake of everyone’s safety.