|
People in masks cannot be trusted
|
Article
Quote:
O.C. soldier to sue Las Vegas police over arrest
Sgt. Mark England, recovering from broken ribs and bruises, seeks help of ACLU over airport incident.
By ERIK ORTIZ
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
STANTON – The physical scars are healing for a National Guard soldier beaten, bruised and struck with a Taser gun by Las Vegas police officers. But nearly three months later, the incident still rankles.
Unable to redeploy to Iraq because of injuries received March 10, Sgt. Mark England has enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union in Nevada and a Las Vegas attorney for an impending lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The Internal Affairs Bureau is reviewing the actions of two officers at McCarren International Airport, where England, 37, said he was hit so hard with a baton that he suffered three broken ribs and numerous bruises to his hands, arms, forehead and leg.
"I can't believe I made it all the way back from Iraq, and this happens to me here, at home," England, a 14-year soldier who served as a combat medic in Iraq, said in an interview in his Stanton home.
Bill Cassell, Las Vegas police spokesman, declined to comment last week on the investigation because it is ongoing, although the department has previously said the officers followed policy.
But England, who claims he was never physically aggressive toward the officers, said they were out of line. He's since been on radio talk shows, had his story on Internet blogs and appeared on a Las Vegas news station featuring footage of the incident taken from airport surveillance cameras.
"We've got evidence that doesn't make this a 'he said, she said' case," said Lee Rowland, staff attorney for the Nevada ACLU. "It's clear that Sgt. England posed no physical threat to those officers, and certainly from all the facts we have, there was no cause to use the Taser."
England was in Las Vegas for a vacation with a friend before a planned second deployment to Iraq. He was catching a flight back to Orange County when he tried to pass through a security checkpoint carrying an opened soda, a practice he's done at other airports, he said. But Las Vegas allows only drinks bought after the checkpoint.
England said he exchanged words with a TSA supervisor, who had claimed to be an Army lieutenant. When England, who was not in uniform, asked to see his military ID, the man refused.
The supervisor then let him go catch his flight, but England missed it and had to rebook. Still uncomfortable about the earlier exchange over the military ID, he sought out the TSA supervisor and asked to speak with a superior.
A Las Vegas police officer at the scene asked to see England's boarding pass. England said as he dug into his pockets he pulled out a dollar bill, at which point the officer threw the money to the floor. England asked him to pick it up.
The officer then tried to handcuff England, who said he rolled away on impulse. That's when the officer drew his baton and told him to get down, England said. Airport surveillance shows the officer swinging at England, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 200 pounds, and then a second officer on scene aiming a Taser at him.
Without warning, England said, darts hit his right forearm and abdomen. The officers told him to roll on his stomach, but he couldn't.
"I wasn't trying to stand back up after I got Tased," England said, "mainly because I couldn't."
After getting hit by a Taser a second and third time, England said, the officers were able to handcuff him. Paramedics checked him out and he was taken to a police substation, then the Clark County jail.
England said he was arrested on suspicion of violating airport rules and resisting arrest, although no charges were filed.
England's wife, Julianna, said she was shocked to see what had happened to her husband. The couple not only wants to see the officers fired, but also the establishment of more stringent Taser policies, as proposed by the ACLU.
Meanwhile, England isn't sure when he'll be redeployed to Iraq. He's undergoing physical therapy.
"It tears me up inside that I'm not there," he said Monday, after a doctor's visit. "It upsets me that they took a soldier out of the fight."
|
I agree the response was out of line, but he first did bring a liquid through, he did use the F word, he did go back and he did resist arest (an attempt to be handcuffed) by "rolling away."
It is hard to come to total judgement without all the facts. So I am going to reserve final judgement until we hear the police side.
Last edited by Xazy; 06-25-2007 at 04:44 AM..
|