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| NEWS > 29 December 2006 |
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Learn from history, don't repe
The Police Association secretary, Paul Mullett, needs a lesson in history. The Spanish Inquisition, to which he likens the Office of Police Integrity, were the torturers. The inquisitors were the theological equivalent of the armed offenders squad and Torquemada was the secretary of the Spanish Inquisitors' Association.
That's a small point. The big question in the present confrontation between the OPI, the Chief Commissioner and the Police Association is who is going to win. And going on past form, we can safely place our bets on the association.
In a disgraceful display... Read more
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Pioneer Press - St. Paul,MN,US
29 December 2006
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Driver, 85, sues over police r
ST. PAUL
It was 85-year-old Leon Nins' daily devotion: make a sandwich on white bread, pack a little something sweet and drive the sack lunch to his ailing wife in a nursing home.
That's where the World War II veteran and retired welder was heading when, he alleges in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, he suffered an "inhumane beating" at the hands of a St. Paul police officer.
Nins sued exactly two years after the Dec. 27, 2004, confrontation, which began with an officer pulling him over for expired license plate tabs. Nins seeks more than $50,000, plus punitive damages.
A city attorney promised Thursday that the city would vigorously defend itself against Nins' claims.
The incident, involving a black motorist and a white officer, upset local civil rights leaders. Police Chief John Harrington, relying on witness statements and a squad car audio recording, defended officer Michael Lee, who said Nins kicked and spit at him.
In the suit, Nins makes a variety of claims, including excessive force, battery and assault. The filing states Nins suffered permanent damage to his eyes and legs, as well as psychological injuries, including depression, anxiety and panic attacks.
Nins was arrested and spent three days in jail. Prosecutors charged him with assaulting the officer and obstructing the legal process, but they dropped the charges and allowed him to admit to driving with a suspended license.
Nins suffered hearing loss and some confusion at the time of the incident. He has since been moved to a Minneapolis nursing home. His kidneys and eyesight are failing.
His son, the Rev. Thomas Nins, said the beating forever changed his father's life.
"My father has earned the right to have some sense of justice, and if justice can only come in the form of compensation, he is entitled to that as well," said Thomas Nins, who lives in Connecticut. "The blows were from the outside, but the wounds don't heal on the inside. A man who lived his life with integrity was treated without honor or respect."
Nins had no criminal record and has served as a church deacon for 40 years.
St. Paul City Attorney John Choi said the city is on "strong legal ground."
"The Police Department has done an internal investigation in this area," Choi said. "Officer Mike Lee was exonerated in that process. … We will defend the city vigorously."
Lee pulled Nins over about 1:30 p.m. near the corner of Dale Street and Selby Avenue in the Summit-University neighborhood. Police and Nins have given conflicting accounts of what happened next.
According to the suit filed Wednesday, Nins said he tried to step out of the car but said the officer grabbed the sack lunch Nins had prepared for his ailing wife and threw it onto the ground.
Nins says he asked Lee why he threw the food and Lee responded by grabbing him and assaulting him. The suit states Nins never resisted the officer but did question his actions.
Nins accused the officer of punching, kicking and striking him with a flashlight or baton. The officer also sprayed Nins with a chemical irritant.
"Mr. Nins cried out in pain and begged Officer Lee to stop the beating prior to being thrown on the floor of the backseat of the squad car," the suit alleges.
Nins sat in jail for three days until he was able to contact his family.
"Had (Lee) seen him as a human being, he would not have treated him like an animal," Thomas Nins said.
According to a criminal complaint originally filed by prosecutors, Nins would not open his window for the officer. Lee opened the vehicle door, and Nins began yelling that he would not show his driver's license, began swearing and refused to get out of the car. Nins spit at Lee as the officer pulled him out of the car, handcuffed him and placed him in the back of the squad car.
The prosecutors' complaint also said Nins kicked the squad car door open, hitting Lee in the face, and then kicked the officer's legs.
Subsequent investigations by the Bloomington Police Department and the U.S. Justice Department cleared Lee of criminal wrongdoing.
Nins' lawsuit names the city, the Police Department, Harrington and Lee.
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