Man plans to sue St. Paul, police over beating at jail
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posted by Bob at Thursday, June 18, 2009
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34 Comments:
Man plans to sue St. Paul, police over beating at jail
Last update: June 15, 2009 - 11:28 PM
A 28-year-old man who said he was beaten in the Ramsey County jail by an off-duty St. Paul police officer has filed notice that he plans to sue the city of St. Paul and the Police Department.
Luke Prescott of South St. Paul "will be seeking damages ... based on but not limited by ... common law assault and battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, negligent training and/or supervision, abuse of process" and violations of the U.S. and Minnesota constitutions, according to a "notice of claim" filed in the city clerk's office last week.
The notice said Prescott will ask for damages in excess of $50,000. It's unclear whether the lawsuit will be filed in state or federal court.
The officer, Scott D. Wendell, 45, of Columbus, is charged in Ramsey County District Court with third-degree assault. His next court hearing is scheduled for July 9 before District Judge John Guthmann.
Wendell is on unpaid leave from the Police Department pending resolution of the criminal case and then an internal affairs investigation, said police spokesman Sgt. Paul Schnell.
According to the criminal charges, Wendell went to the jail while off duty Nov. 2 after colleagues told him that they had taken Prescott into custody and that Wendell's stepdaughter was with Prescott at the time of the arrest.
Another officer told authorities that he saw Wendell push Prescott into the back wall of the cell and that the officer walked away thinking, "I didn't want to be part of this," the complaint said. The officer said he returned to find Prescott in a pool of blood on the cell floor.
Prescott suffered a 4-inch cut to the back of his head that required 12 staples to close. His mother has said Prescott was handcuffed at the time.
PAT PHEIFER
Good.
He needs to sue the county too. Why the hell was an off duty cop allowed in the cell with the Ramsey County prisoner?
The SPPD will argue that Scott Wendell was not on-duty and therefore not their responsibility however- Once a prisoner is taken into custody at the Ramsey County jail, his safety is their responsibility.
The suit will expand or focus on the county soon enough. He could civilly sue Wendell but, I'm not seeing where the city police department fits in with this. This kid needs a real lawyer. Real fast.
Who runs the jails again? What kind of leader has jailers who simply walk away when they witness a handcuffed prisoner being beaten?
Eric
More of the Chris Coleman administration you support Eric.
NO 2:15 - there is no way that this wins as a suit against the City. The guy is off duty.
The suit should be against the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department. They are the one that let in the assailant and allowed the assault.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Thats right Chuck.
2:15
This is not the Coleman administration. The jails are ran by another elected official- the Sheriff.
Eric
Yes handcuffs were on and
No Chance that Luke Prescott could fight back.
This is a hot story, and now all the beatings by St.Paul's Police and the Ramsey County Deputies will come to the surface.
Hot Head Cops
a cop beat him and with help of a stand by deputy.
That's like a couple of stories, about their med's.
Diabetics or epilepsy is two stories and many more.
Come Back, Eric or Chuck.
Tell the people of "A" Democracy how the county is responsible for this act. not giving people in custody
We already did point out that he was in custody, therefore the responsibility of the county. His major lawsuit is with the city.
Suing the city police for what a cop does off duty on confuses the issue.
The cop himself should be fired, sent to prison and personally sued in civil court.
The sheriff needs to fire the deputies that let this guy in- AND those who witnessed the incident and didn't try to stop or report it.
This guy either has the worlds crappiest attorney, or trying to do this himself. $50,000 is just hush money and won't deter anyone from letting this happen again.
Eric
$ 50'000.00 ( basic compensatory damages ) is a rounded number that the rules of pleading indicate as a starting point for claims in a civil lawsuit.
The attorneys on this case know that punitive damages can be allowed to be paid by the city for the liable defendant. Punitive damages is the pot o gold the attorneys hope to get from winning this case.
I haven't seen the pleadings, but my guess is that Ramsey County, City of St.Paul and numerous individual named defendants are plead in their individual or proffesional capacitys.
Jeff Matiatos
Jeff - the guy needs a good lawyer if who ever he has is stearing him towards the City when it is the county that should be in the cross hairs.
The jail is locked. This cop has to come up to the sally port show his I.D. and give some official reason to be allowed inside.
So, what in the heck would have been the official reason to let him in? If the jailer let him in to see his "son-in-law" the jailer (and county) is clearly at fault and the City/police are free.
Also, a jailer should bring the inmate to one of the visitation cells not let the cop in the back anyway.
There is no way this is the City's issue.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Well then Chuck, the city can be held liable because this St.Paul officer used his position of authority and credentials to gain access through the salley port into the jail.
The officer abused his credentials in violation of his training protocol. For this, the city is liable for negligent retention and or training for an abuse of training policy.
Jeff Matiatos
Bob, will you be posting any of the court pleadings on this case ?
Negligent retention occurs when the employer becomes aware or should have become aware of problems with an employee that indicate unfitness, and the employer fails to take action such as investigation, discharge, or eassignment.
Better hope this city police officer hasn't abused his authority or credintials in the past Chuck.
Jeff Matiatos
Negligent retention occurs when the employer becomes aware or should have become aware of problems with an employee that indicate unfitness, and the employer fails to take action such as investigation, discharge, or eassignment.
Better hope this city police officer hasn't abused his authority or credintials in the past Chuck.
Jeff Matiatos
Sorry folks your wrong this is the city of saint paul baby all the way he was in the holding cell that is licensed by the doc to st paul it is where they hold people till the reports are done etc then the officers bring the person down the hall to the sheriff jail county had nothing to do with this. This is not the first time this guys gotten into trouble he needs a serious wake up and this is what makes good cops looks bad make me sick
Good cops are professionals, not thugs who kick the crap out of handcuffed detainees.
It doesn't matter if this guy was a piece of shit, he still has rights and the cops still has rules and procedures they must follow.
This cop wasn't kicking the crap out of him because he wanted to teach him a lesson on being a criminal, he did it to send a message for him to stay away from his adult step-daughter who was staying with him and wouldn't come home.
That's personal bs and abuse of his authority.
Chuck, who used to work in Corrections, spelled out where the county deputies went wrong.
Everyday I grow less surprised at people who have no concern for rights.
This cop was far from what would be a 'good cop'. You blame the victim for making him look bad. I blame the person that willingly used his authority to gain access to a handcuffed prisoner and then kicked the shit out of him.
Call me crazy.
Eric
Eric said, "The cop himself should be fired, sent to prison and personally sued in civil court."
Eric where were you when your buddy, Bill Finney was protecting his friends on the force who were doing the same types of things. You have spoken out on SPIF and here in support of former chief Finney, but now complaign to higs heaven about Ramsey County. It seems you are color blind or that is the problem Finney was black and the Ramsey County Sheriff is white.
Eric said, "This cop was far from what would be a 'good cop'. You blame the victim for making him look bad. I blame the person that willingly used his authority to gain access to a handcuffed prisoner and then kicked the shit out of him.
Call me crazy"
Eric you are full of shit. The cop kicked the shit out of the guy because he had an attitude problem. The guy should have kept his mouth shut and there would have been no problem.
Eric you are shuch a two faced individual it is laughable.
Were you one of the ones protesting on the 18th?
Eric said, "Good cops are professionals, not thugs who kick the crap out of handcuffed detainees."
Sorry, Eric the guy mouths off, he gets it right in the kisser.
Eric said, "It doesn't matter if this guy was a piece of shit, he still has rights and the cops still has rules and procedures they must follow."
Garbage needs to thrown out. Yes, he has rights, but he doesn't have the right to mouth off to a cop, on or off duty. What gives you the "right" you to mouth off to anyone. Just remember your actions have consequences. Mouth off to a cop and it is not going to be like our schools are today, you are not going to be given a cookie and shown to the school social worker.
In the "real world" there are consequenced for one's behavior.
Chucky speaks, "There is no way this is the City's issue."
Yes it is. The guy was in the holding cell that is licensed by the DOC to St. Paul it is where they hold people till the reports are done etc then the officers bring the person down the hall to the sheriff jail county had nothing to do with this.
10:44 and 10:49,
You watch too much tv.
Here's the bottom line- the cop had no business in the jail. He wasn't a jailer. He wasn't an employee of the county who run the jail. He wasn't the arresting officer. He wasn't on duty following up on a tip.
He was a punk who saw an opportunity to use his connections to break the law, and violate both his oath, and the constitution.
He couldn't control his adult step daughter who wanted to be with aresstee, and was with him when he was arrested.
In the real world, when you're a worthless parent, you kids will make bad decisions, you can go around and eliminate those options, you have to leave with their decisions and let them learn the hard way.
In the real world, as you put it, real men don't attack opponents who are restrained. Real punks do that.
In the real world, cops are given a lot power to make judgments about freedom and life and death. With that kind of power comes a responsibility. This cop, appears to have violated that responsibility, he needs to go.
Even when you are in custody, you have rights, though limited. The Eight Amendment apparently means nothing to some.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
In the real world, this cop has already been criminally charged with assault and is going through an internal affairs investigation. He has been suspended without pay.
He was wrong.
10:44 you said a few things you should explain"
"Eric you are full of shit."
and
"Eric you are such a two faced individual it is laughable."
Care to tell us how? I usually ignore anonymous cowards who talk about stuff they have no idea even thinking about but, I'll entertain you. Back up your accusations.
Don't know where this came from:
"Were you one of the ones protesting on the 18th?"
No. I don't protest elected officials I don't like, I go and work to replace them.
We finally know who you are (S. from the M). You are a Fletcher guy or your wife is. The 18th was his fundraiser at O'Garas. So you come on here and try to tell us that this guy had it coming to him AND the county (Sheriff) is not responsible for this guy that they had in custody.
You're weak, pathetic and not even smart enough to actually be anonymous. Just use your name and stand behind your words.
Eric
"You are a Fletcher guy or your wife is."
Or maybe, just maybe my husband is in law enforcement and not in the Sheriff's Dept.
This guy should have kept his mouth shut. Mouth off to a cop and see what happens Eric.
That is the REAL WORLD you P. O. S.
1:40PM with your statement here if we happen to see you on the street does that give us the right to beat you? Cause you sure have a mouth on you!
Looks like Chuck couldn't back up the city this time. He has vanished. So has Bob who is dodging us readers by the posting he deleted about the two lawyers stopped for " Driving while black ".
Bob said he would respond to it and not only did the coward not answer it, he deleted the post. Looks like he'll be deleting this one to.
Does anyone think that the deputy ( Ramsey County Deputy ? )that saw it happen and didn't want to be a part of it, knew Wendell was commiting a crime ?
I question why, after that admission, this deputy wasn't cited for not reporting a crime in progress or making an arrest of Wendell.
It's that code of silence / cover our backs thing.
Jeff Matiatos
Excuse me, the posting does say that the officer reported to other authorities.
Jeff Matiatos
1:40,
You now call me a P.O.S.?
Before I was just full of shit and two-faced.
Can you please explain yourself before I just jump in ans start calling you baseless names, like dookie-breath?
I am a piece of shit, why?
I am two-faced, why?
I already know why I'm full of shit.
I like your real world reference. You know what else happens in the real world?
In the real world if you assault someone, you'll find yourself up to your ass in legal bills, fighting a lawsuit, the possibility of losing your career,loosing your pension and quite possibly after its all over, losing your family.
On the other hand, the guy in handcuffs gets a little money, an apology, his girl and walks away when he probably should be held for whatever crime he was brought in for.
That's your kind of justice? Because a cop was unprofessional and trying to be 'real world' there is a petty criminal let go, with a taxpayer funded payoff?
Bravo.
And, if you're going to stick your story, try telling a partial truth. The cop was there to 'persuade' the perp to stop seeing his adult step-daughter who left to be with him.
He had zero business there in the first place and whomever let him in through the back way, needs to be fired.
Eric
8:43 - I have no info that would tell me where in the jail the victim was.
I have a hard time believing that this person sat in the City holding cell long enough for someone to let the perp know that he was in custody.
8:43 do you have any reports you could share that backs you up?
If you're right I am stunned, because the City's detention space now is so small that the police web site doesn't even mention the staffing of it, or its location...
The control of arrested inmates have been the responsibility of the Sheriff for at least 40 years. Remember the city jail in the old police station was turned over to the county in like the 60's. Once they got out of the elevator they went to the responsibility of the county. And at the Kellogg site you went straight into county hands.
So, give us so dope if you know something else.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Chuck, in the old Saint Paul Police jail annex there was a rubber rat in the light fixture of the elevator that took prisoners up to the jail on the second floor.
The police would tell hand cuffed prisoners they were pissed at to look up at the rat. Then the cops would beat the defenseless prisoner. This was a common occurrence and the practice was widely known.
Eric, "In the real world if you assault someone, you'll find yourself up to your ass in legal bills, fighting a lawsuit, the possibility of losing your career,loosing your pension and quite possibly after its all over, losing your family."
Please tell this to Linda Foster. She was beaten by her husband and NOTHING was done because her husband was a friend of the police chief.
Tell that to Barbara Winn, her boyfriend killed her in a fit of rage. His friend on the police force kept him out of jail.
Tell that to three other girl friends of this Foster individual, all came to the police chief and he covered for his friend.
Do you know who I am talking about Eric, none other than your friend Bill Finney.
Your buddy Bill Finney even gave this Foster guy a permit to carry, a take home squad car and a St. Police badge even though Foster was not a cop.
Don't forget all of the "get Out Of Jail Free" letters Finney wrote for his drug dealing buddies.
Finney covered for lots of his friends who happened to be cops who broke the law. Care to ask Todd Axtell former vice commander?
Same ol' shit ("oh you people, stop bothering Bob Fletcher, Finney is the real criminal"). This Foster thing has gone to court three times, under several law enforcement agencies and attorneys. Finney would have to be the wizard of OZ to hide all of that evidence from all of those people for all of these years.
I haven't talked to Finney in probably over a year. I haven't read about him in over a year either.
However, I read about the Sheriff's Office caught up in the legal system every month, almost every week as of late. The leader of that Office is Fletcher and its got nothing to do with Finney.
How do you explain that?
Eric
Guys I know this first hand that this all happened in the city owned holding cell I for obvious reaspn can't give my name but this is the city problem
I don't agree with wendell at all if he did this he should be fired sued and jailed but let's also remember that while we talk a lot here about right and laws wendell is innocent till proven guilty
In any career your gonna have good and bad the challenge for administrations is to get rid of the bad
It says he was in the county jail in the first line:A 28-year-old man who said he was beaten in the Ramsey County jail by an off-duty St. Paul police officer
It says he was in the county jail in the first line:A 28-year-old man who said he was beaten in the Ramsey County jail by an off-duty St. Paul police officer
The reporter is not correct. This holding cell is in SPPD, not RCS. SPPD had control of this holding cell. Later after he has been questioned or whatever, he is brought down the hall to RCS jail.
For all you Fletcher haters, sorry you can't pin this on Sheriff Fletcher.
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