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Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force

By TChris, Section Misconduct
Posted on Tue May 03, 2005 at 03:13:12 PM EST
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by TChris

Early Ray Bryant, a 63-year-old retired truck driver, had words with a security guard who allegedly made a nasty remark about Bryant's wife over a CB radio. Bryant called the Williamsburg police, an action he no doubt regretted after Officer Brad Nighbert arrived.

Bryant said that when police responded, Nighbert, without reason, hit him from behind with a nightstick and threw him to the ground, injuring him, and that two other officers did not intervene. Nighbert falsely arrested him to cover up the assault and refused to get him medical treatment, Bryant claimed. The charges were later dismissed.

A jury accepted Bryant's account of the attack and found that Nighbert used excessive force against him, in violation of his civil rights. The jury awarded $25,000 to Bryant and $10,000 to his wife. Bryant's attorneys will seek an award of fees for their successful representation of Bryant.

Nighbert seems to be a problem for the Williamsburg police department.

In two other pending federal lawsuits, Nighbert is accused -- alone in one case, and with other officers in the other -- of assaulting a juvenile who had mental problems and a man who suffered from schizophrenia in 2004, injuring both of them.

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    Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force | 10 comments (10 topical)
    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#1)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    A civil jury, not a criminal one. Big difference there.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#2)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    Of course "A civil jury, not a criminal one" The local prosecutor will always tank a case when he has to work daily with the perp's friends. The only recourse to police brutality, time and time again, is to contest it in civil courts and make it too expensive.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#3)
    by Joe Bob on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    I find it very heartening that in this case it is the officer himself paying the damages rather than the municipality that employs him. I've always found it irksome when an officer beats someone and the result is city taxpayers funding the judgment. It's nice to see some of that 'personal responsibility' we hear so much about.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    Here: Maybe if I put the words here on the thread, Conservatives won't be tempted to rewrite them in a more long winded or less obvious manner: The trucker obviously had it coming to him; I mean, we all know that anything a deputy or policeman does is justified, anything a deputy or policeman says is true, and anyone that is charged with anything obviously did something.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    Joe Bob--Forgive the cynicism, but I would imagine that cops who cost their municipalities $35,000 in civil judgements (plus legal fees and other incidentals) don't tend to go on to terribly successful law enforcement careers.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#6)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    Nice bunch of droogs they got down in Williamsburg. I commend the victim for following through, many times the victims of police brutality just take their lumps, and figure no one will believe them.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    Well, Molly, that's an interesting question. I wonder what the career prospects are for the officer who costs the municipality a chunk of change? There should be some history to review with this question.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#8)
    by Johnny on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    Wow Patrick... just like the O.J. thing. Civil trial, not criminal. Just fire this guy and see if incidents of this type drop or not.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#9)
    by Joe Bob on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:43 PM EST
    Molly, You would think that would be the case, but often it is not. In Minneapolis, where I live, I know with certainty of an officer still on the force in spite of costing the city $700,000 and $300,000 brutality judgments. The way these things seem to work is that the officer is publicly reprimanded and suspended pay. After that there is much wrangling between the police union, police department, and the city and several months later the officer is quietly reinstated.

    Re: Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:46 PM EST
    There's a fine line between appropriate force and excessive force. A large gray area when it gets put in front of a jury. Police agencies need to back their officers even if the jury orders a payout if the agency thinks the actions in the jury's gray area were not way over the line. I think the officers need to be hung out to dry financially and criminally when they are over the gray area and even their own agencies want to run away from them. Doesn't happen often and maybe that's why/how we end up with the possibility of policemen moonlighting as mafia hitmen and retiring to Las Vegas. Maybe politicians and police should be forced to provide financial disclosure on an ongoing basis. Who would like to see Bernie Kerik's financial records? or Rudy Guliani's?

    Jury Finds Officer Used Excessive Force | 10 comments (10 topical)