Total Bullshit

Several years ago an Alaska State Trooper arrested an escaped convict. He had escaped from a local holding facility (jail would be too strong of a word, an office with a locked closet door is a more appropriate description) stole a snowmachine and drove like a maniac through a small Yup’ik Eskimo village. To effectuate this arrest the Trooper used a Taser on the defendant.

Now, keep in mind that in Bush Alaska an individual State Trooper may be the only law enforcement officer for tens of thousands of square miles. Western Alaska is the size of Texas, the villages and the three cities are not connected to either each other or the rest of the state by road. All travel must be done in one of three ways – flying, boating, snowmachining. It’s a region rife with domestic violence spurred by abject poverty and easy access to alcohol. It’s also one of the most beautiful places on Earth and the people continue to live a traditional subsistence lifestyle.

When I lived out in Bush Alaska I did not know this Trooper. As I was working in the court system I had only tangental contact with the Troopers working in out-lying areas. I did, however, come to a realizaton – they have a very difficult job especially in the villages where everyone is related and no one really wants to talk to law enforcement about their family or community problems. Towards the end of my work in Western Alaska the issue of this State Trooper using a Taser to arrest the escaped convict came to light. I did not know much about it because I left prior to trial.

Apparently, the defendant, after being convicted for multiple offenses – DUI, eluding a police officer, resisting arrest, escape – sued the Trooper for the injuries caused by the Taser alleging that the Trooper used excessive force. At trial in Western Alaska, the jury found for the criminal and awarded him $1.1 million. Thankfully, the State appealed and earlier this year the case was heard before the State Supreme Court. Yesterday, it came out that the State settled with the criminal for $575,000. That, in my opinion is total bullshit. It was, in my opinion, the absolute wrong approach and conclusion.

Now, while I actually work for State, I don’t always (suprise! suprise!) agree with what others may choose to do. Settlement, given the historic posture of this case sends a distinct message – “it’s okay to sue the troopers because they’ll just give-up and you can get your money!” It doesn’t matter to these criminals that they caused the situation in the first place. It only matters that they can get some money from the state because the state will waive the white flag and let you get the money and the good press.

I think that is an important aspect of this case. In 2004, the local NBC affiliate ran a long piece about this Trooper which they updated for the new settlement. It appears to me that the criminal’s attorney – David Henderson – was able to secure ‘good press’ about the civil action in 2004 and got one of the Anchorage TV news programs to do the story about the case. The reporter interviewed several others who claimed to have been injured by the Trooper but what the story (and the new ‘updates’) fail to adequately explain is that these criminals were all convicted. That is, they resisted arrested for some crime and were then found guilty of said crime or crimes. It was then that they ‘cried Wolf’ and got to watch themselves on TV. Good grief. The Troopers did not use the media in an appropriate fashion. Instead of giving their side of the story, they refused comment or simply issued a press release stating that “the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing.”

That’s even more bullshit. Once you settle, no matter how the settlement is structured, the party who ends up paying is viewed, rightly or wrongly, as the one at fault. Most of the public fails to recognize the subtle nuances of civil litigation and settlement. The state’s failure to accurately/adequately explain to the public the reasons for settlement in the matter is a public relations disaster that can never be cured.

As for the Trooper, I can’t put it any better than my former colleague who wrote:

I worked with Trooper Spitzer in a professional capacity for well over a year. I can say without reservation that he is one of the best law enforcement officers I have ever met. Consummately professional, incredibly driven, he represents the finest in Alaska law enforcement. This case illustrates the difficulty in enforcing the law in areas traditionally unreceptive to law enforcement. The settlement recognizes the futility in attempting a fair resolution with an accurate portrayal of the facts; it simply would not occur in Bethel. I am gratified to see that the troopers are not viewing the settlement as “an admission of wrongdoing…on the part of the state or trooper Spitzer.” I truly hope that Trooper Spitzer will continue to serve the people of the state of Alaska for many years to come.

‘Save the Date’

We got our ‘Save the Date’ cards from the printer this week. The cards look good and the envelopes (thankfully) have the return address printed on the back flap. Despite the fact that I have to come into the office all weekend long we’re planning on doing the mailing labels for the cards and mailing them out by the beginning of next week.

On another note, our good friends from Ketchikan just moved into town. Too bad that one of them is going to be working for the Dark Side. Still, she’s my friend.

Bills

Bills. Debt. These things need to get paid. I’ve learned that I’m behind on my website hosting bills. I’ve got to these paid before they cut me off and assign me to the scrap heap.

No trial

This morning the defendant came into court and signed the plea agreement. This effectively ended my hope of taking a case to trial this month. Kinda sucks. I was ramped-up to go and now I’ve got to throttle down and calm down.

Trial(s)

I began this week with the express intent and desire to start a murder trial. After five years we had finally gotten the case on to the trial calendar and we were prepared to pick a jury and go forward with evidence. I had spent the past two weeks preparing the case for trial (two banker boxes full of unorganized materials) and we were rip-roaring ready.

On Monday the trial got weird. Without going into detail, both the prosecutors and the defense attorneys are appealing the judge’s decision because both sides agree that he is wrong on a crucial aspect of the law. So, following this resolution we will start trial but that won’t be for some time, perhaps 6 months or more.

So, late Monday afternoon I was given a totally different case file. This is an even older (I don’t even know how that is possible) crime from spring 2002. I ensured we had our witnesses all ready, quickly organized the file (only 1 banker box full of unorganized materials this time around) and walked into the courtroom this morning (Tuesday) and announced ready for trial tomorrow (Wednesday). Defense announced he did not have any of the audio tapes – all 8 of them – and I countered with offering to re-copy them and have them to him by noon. The judge (one who has NEVER presided over a criminal trial before) went over some pre-trial issues and we headed our respective ways.

Went back to my office, met with the detective, prepped all of the evidence for trial and made the copies of the audio tapes for the defense. Then the defense counsel called me and said his client would be taking the offer we (and by that, I mean the attorney who gave me the file the day before) extended and I could not, given the procedural history and the parties’ postures, revoke. So, now I’ve got the change of plea tomorrow. But, if he doesn’t go through with it we’ve got the jurors waiting to be voir dired.