Tasered Accountant Gets $60K in Excessive-Force Case
A 53-year-old Washington state accountant who voluntarily went to the local police station as a witness and wound up as a defendant in an obstruction case, after being jolted twice with a stun gun, has won a $60,000 award in a federal civil rights case.
Kevin Bonner was awarded $35,000 in compensatory damages and $25,000 in punitive damages by a federal jury that found Normandy Park police used excessive force. The jury also determined that a detective investigating the underlying child abuse matter had used excessive force, but did not commit an assault and battery, reports the Seattle Times.
The situation in the station arose after Bonner went there to dispute abuse allegations made against his wife concerning their 3-year-old grandchild by a family member in a bitter child-custody battle, the newspaper reports. Bonner felt he was being treated rudely, but when he tried to go talk to the police chief, he was arrested. The obstruction charge was eventually dismissed.
“Before the trial, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez ruled that Lievero had cause to arrest Bonner,” the newspaper notes. Bonner was represented by attorney Jeffrey Needle.
