Five city police officers who responded to an early morning traffic stop in July 2001 did not use excessive force when they subdued a man by using a police dog.
But the city of Terre Haute is liable anyway because "a policy, pattern or practice concerning its review procedure for complaints" violated William M. Mazique's constitutional rights, according to a jury's verdict on Tuesday.
After two hours of deliberations, the federal jury awarded Mazique $4,000 in punitive damages, finding that the city "acted with malice or reckless indifference to the plaintiff's federally protected rights."
But whether the jury's decision will hold up in court is another matter.
"It's an inconsistent verdict. It's not in compliance with the jury's instructions or the law. I'm sure it will not be allowed to stand," said Terre Haute attorney Bill Drummy, who represented the officers and city in the suit.
The jury, Drummy said, had to have first established that police used excessive force before finding city policy violated Mazique's right not to be subjected to excessive or unreasonable force during an arrest.
Further, he said, a jury cannot legally award punitive damages -- ones that punish -- without first awarding damages that compensate a plaintiff. The jury did not award Mazique any compensatory damages.
Drummy asked U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young to find that the city cannot be held liable in the case since the jury did not find the officers to be at fault.
Young said he expects the issue to be addressed at a post-trial hearing. No date has been set.
Mazique, 44, of Terre Haute sued the city, Police Department and nine officers after he was pulled from his car by a police dog during an early morning traffic stop on July 6, 2001.
Four officers had been dismissed from the case, leaving Rick Decker, Scott Funkhouser, Terry John, Gregory Mosbarger and Harold Seifers as the defendants.
In the lawsuit, Mazique claimed police used excessive force and asked for monetary damages for physical and mental suffering. He also asked for punitive damages.
During the two-day trial in U.S. District Court, police testified that Mazique refused to produce his driver's license and hid his right hand, acting as if he was reaching for something next to his seat. According to officers' testimony, they feared Mazique was concealing a weapon -- which they say turned out to be a can of pepper spray.
Mazique testified otherwise. During Tuesday's testimony, Mazique said he complied with Officer Rick Decker's request to turn over his driver's license. He also claimed Decker pointed his gun at him and called for backup -- without any reason.
According to trial testimony, police were looking for another man, who is white, at the time Mazique was pulled over in the area of 23rd Street and Third Avenue. Mazique, who is black, was driving a red car which police say was similar in description to the suspect's vehicle.
Mazique said police found the chemical spray during a search of his car after he was arrested. He said he kept the metal can in the console for the protection of his wife and daughters.
During closing statements, Drummy argued that Mazique's version of what happened did not correspond to a dispatch tape from the morning in question.
However, Mazique's attorney, John Pierce, said the tape was not reliable, because it failed to include early transmissions about the suspect police were seeking.
Pierce also said the Police Department lacked several important policies -- including one that would require dispatchers to run license-plate numbers on every traffic stop. He also suggested that the department does not thoroughly review the training log for police dogs, nor keep statistics on the number of times police dogs bite people.
During the trial, Pierce also questioned the department's policy on reviewing reports. In Mazique's case, Sgt. Harold Seifers -- who responded on the morning in question -- approved all the reports in connection with the traffic stop. Pierce suggested that a higher-ranking officer should have reviewed the reports.
After the jury's verdict, Pierce said he needed more time to review the outcome before commenting. His client also declined comment.
Karin Grunden can be reached at (812) 231-4214 or karin.grunden@tribstar.com.
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