Here’s the complaint: Johnson v. Bradford Complaint
And here’s the news coverage, from the Farmington Daily Times:
Lawsuit accuses police of excessive force, racial profiling
Article Launched: 12/07/2007 12:00:00 AM MST
FARMINGTON — A civil lawsuit accusing a Farmington Police officer of using excessive force and targeting American Indians was filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on Thursday.
Attorneys Arlon Stoker and Brad Dalley claim Officer Russell Bradford, under the supervision of the Farmington Police Department, used unnecessary force while taking 17-year-old Derek Parrish to the San Juan County Juvenile Detention Center in May. Bradford allegedly slammed Parrish’s face into the pavement outside the detention center, put his knee on top of Parrish’s head while he was down, and later threw Parrish to the floor of the booking area, Stoker said. “He just planted this kid for no reason at all,” Stoker said. “It’s time that this stuff stops, and the only thing that can make it stop is political pressure.” Parrish, who is an American Indian, was arrested and detained May 19 for a parole violation after he was seen “visibly intoxicated” at Animas Valley Mall.”We determined that the force used to subdue the young man
was appropriate,” city of Farmington attorney Jay Burnham said. Bradford’s use of force was necessary because Parrish “charged Officer Bradford by throwing his shoulder and pushing into Officer Bradford,” which almost knocked the officer over, according to an Oct. 11 letter from city of Farmington Claims Manager Ezora Boognl denying a damages claim Stoker had filed previously regarding the incident. Bradford then placed Parrish in a wristlock and took him to the ground until he settled down because the teen was “very agitated and drunk,” the letter said. Parrish continued to resist and swear at the officer while he was being held down, it said. The letter noted Parrish becomes hostile and aggressive while he is under the influence of alcohol. It cited four separate incidents since September 2006 when Parrish was arrested on felony charges, which primarily were assault-related charges. “Derrick Parrish is a juvenile, and he’s been arrested, and so they have a good time beating him up,” Stoker said. The incident was filmed by security cameras at the detention center, but the images it shows are inconclusive to the excessive force claim because the video cuts in and out and does not show Parrish trying to get away or pushing Bradford, Boognl wrote. “The video neither proves the officer’s version of facts or Mr. Parrish’s claims of excessive force,” she said. Stoker disagrees, and said the video supports his case 100 percent. “It doesn’t show that the kid was doing anything,” he said. The lawsuit is asking the federal court to award Parrish punitive damages, which can be as high as five times the basic compensation for injuries received. Costly punitive damages are designed to serve as a disciplinary measure to deter similar actions from occurring again in the future. In order for a jury to award punitive damages, however, it must find force was not only excessive, but also malicious and planned. The lawsuit does not address the amount of money being sought for damages. An internal investigation of Bradford found the officer was not at fault in the incident, Police Chief Jim Runnels said. Stoker said he had not seen the report filed following that investigation. An independent assessment of the Farmington Police Department completed in June claimed internal investigations of use-of-force complaints were often lax, and officers weren’t disciplined consistently when wrong-doing was revealed. There is no public record available showing if similar accusations against Bradford were made in the past. The most recent public records request made by The Daily Times seeking how many excessive force complaints have been filed against each officer of the Farmington police was denied by the city in August. The May incident is rooted in the “official policies and practices” of racial profiling sanctioned by the Farmington Police Department, the lawsuit alleges. “The Farmington Police Department has a long-standing history of abusing and discriminating against Native Americans, and … denying Native Americans equal protection of the laws,” the lawsuit states. The city of Farmington “categorically and emphatically denies” any accusation the police department is discriminatory toward American Indians, Burnham said. “The issue is whether excessive force was used and has nothing to do with race,” he said. “I don’t think it’s relevant to this lawsuit.” This is the second incident yielding a federal lawsuit Stoker filed this year claiming Farmington police are ethnically discriminatory, Boognl said. “Stoker always has language in there that this is an overall culture within the police department,” Runnels said. “I don’t even respond to that.”A separate suit filed by Colorado attorneys Bobby Duthie and Steven Boos in August accused police of discrimination toward American Indians in the 2006 fatal shooting of Clint John.
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