The city of Cortez has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a family who sued the city and several police officers over the arrest of Shane French at his home in 2014.
The cash settlement was part of a civil lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by French and family members Patti and Glenn French.
It was finalized July 26, and as part of the agreement, the lawsuit was dismissed, said French’s attorney David Lane with the law firm Kilmer, Lane & Newman, LLP.
“Hopefully, the citizens of Cortez will demand better policing because the taxpayers had to pay out of their own pockets,” he said.
All parties must pay their own attorney fees.
The lawsuit was initially filed on Feb. 5, 2016, against the city of Cortez, and police officers Casey Eubanks, Jennifer Lodge (also known as Jennifer Goodall), Boyd Neagle, Ryan Carter, David Allmon and Chief Roy Lane. Charges against Lane and Carter were later dismissed.
The original complaint alleges Cortez police officers were called to the French family’s home for assistance for a mental health hold for French – a qualified individual with a disability – but then illegally entered without consent.
The complaint further alleges that the officers pushed Glenn and Patti French, “tackled Shane French to the ground and handcuffed him,” and then “repeatedly tased Shane French while he was in handcuffs.”
French was then charged with four counts of assaulting a peace officer and three counts of resisting arrest. The alleged assault was connected to a small nick on the left side of officer Eubanks’ stomach, according to court testimony.
French was in custody for about 10 months before being cleared of all charges by a jury.
A year after he was cleared, the French family filed a lawsuit seeking compensatory damages for emotional distress; humiliation; loss of enjoyment of life; loss of companionship with family members after he was jailed for 10 months and found not guilty; punitive damages; economic losses; attorneys’ fees and any other relief as allowed by law.
“The Defendants misperceived the effects of Shane French’s disability as criminal activity,” the 2016 complaint said.
In an interview with The Journal, Shane French’s father, Glenn French, said the arrest incident, jail and trial has been traumatizing for his son who has been diagnosed with mental illness, including being bipolar.
“Now he is scared to death of the police, and does not want to go out in public,” he said. “They jumped on a mentally challenged person who was not doing anything and tased him. The officers broke in the door, and they never offered to fix the door frame and damage to the wall.”
Glenn French said he would like to see more training nationwide for police and court staff on recognizing mental illness.
He said more education is needed about how to safely and respectfully approach mentally challenged members of the public.
“There was no sense in that happening to him that night,” French said. “We’re not anti-law or anything like that, there are good officers out there, and we are friends with them. But the ones that abuse their power and get out of control should not have badges.”
He suggested that police and other law enforcement officers be made more aware of people in the community with mental illness so they are more informed before an arrest or encounter.
In an email to the Journal, Andy Brock, interim chief of police for the Cortez Police Department, said: “The Police Department was disappointed in the settlement as we know we did not violate any laws but we are understanding of the civil system.”
He said the city is required to make decisions that are in the best interest of the city.
“Taking a chance of possibly losing the suit would not have been in the best interest of the city,” he said. “This suit could have continued for years to come, all the while the cost would have been adding up. It was time to put an end to this case.”
Brock said no policies were changed as a result of the settlement and court case. No officers were fired, and there were no disciplinary actions.
“No officers or staff were at fault,” he said.
He said if there are mistakes or issues with the department, the department would “take action and make the appropriate adjustments.”
He said all officers are currently wearing body cameras with video and audio.
As far as lessons learned, Brock said they could have been more detailed in their reports and worked closer with the District Attorney’s Office on the prosecution’s case.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
