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Jury: Redwood City officer used excessive force
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, June 17, 2011
A policeman used excessive force against a diabetic bodybuilder by beating and pepper spraying him outside a Redwood City movie theater as he was slipping into insulin shock, which officers mistook for drunkenness, a federal court jury decided Thursday.
Doug Burns says Redwood City officers beat him as he suffered insulin shock, thinking he was drunk.
Photo: Mike Kepka / The Chronicle, File
The jury said Doug Burns suffered $217,000 in damages. But lawyers for Burns and the city disagreed on whether that amount must be reduced by 30 percent, to $152,000, because jurors also found that Burns' own negligence was a 30 percent cause of his injuries.
The jury didn't distinguish between damages caused by police negligence, which would be offset by Burns' degree of fault, and damages caused by excessive force, which would not be reduced. The damage assessment will be left up to U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, who presided over the two-week trial.
Burns, 47, won a Mr. Universe bodybuilding contest in 2006. He was diagnosed with diabetes at age 7 and speaks at public events to raise awareness of the illness.
Police said a security guard called them to the downtown theater in April 2001 and said Burns appeared to be drunk or on drugs. They said he took a fighting stance when they approached, so one officer pepper sprayed him. The officers then wrestled Burns to the ground.
Burns said the officers beat him in the ribs with a baton, forced his forehead onto the concrete and continued to strike him as he lay on the ground. He said he wore a MedicAlert bracelet, identifying him as diabetic, and was suffering insulin shock that nearly became a life-threatening diabetic coma.
San Mateo County prosecutors initially charged Burns with assaulting an officer and resisting arrest, but dropped the case after deciding his medical condition left him unable to control his actions.
Burns' lawsuit said properly trained police would have recognized his condition, which is not unusual in cases of childhood-diagnosed Type 1 diabetes.
The eight-member jury deliberated for three days before finding that Officer Jaime Mateo had used excessive force and that both Mateo and Sgt. David Gough had acted negligently.
Burns said he hopes the verdict discourages police from finding people "guilty by appearance."
"It could have been somebody suffering an epileptic seizure, suffering a stroke," he said. "You can't just assume somebody is a criminal."
Joseph Howard, Redwood City's lawyer, said the city will appeal. He said the two officers, both 20-year veterans, testified Burns was not wearing a bracelet, they were unaware of his illness, and they used only reasonable force to subdue him.
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, June 17, 2011
A policeman used excessive force against a diabetic bodybuilder by beating and pepper spraying him outside a Redwood City movie theater as he was slipping into insulin shock, which officers mistook for drunkenness, a federal court jury decided Thursday.
Doug Burns says Redwood City officers beat him as he suffered insulin shock, thinking he was drunk.
Photo: Mike Kepka / The Chronicle, File
The jury didn't distinguish between damages caused by police negligence, which would be offset by Burns' degree of fault, and damages caused by excessive force, which would not be reduced. The damage assessment will be left up to U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, who presided over the two-week trial.
Burns, 47, won a Mr. Universe bodybuilding contest in 2006. He was diagnosed with diabetes at age 7 and speaks at public events to raise awareness of the illness.
Police said a security guard called them to the downtown theater in April 2001 and said Burns appeared to be drunk or on drugs. They said he took a fighting stance when they approached, so one officer pepper sprayed him. The officers then wrestled Burns to the ground.
Burns said the officers beat him in the ribs with a baton, forced his forehead onto the concrete and continued to strike him as he lay on the ground. He said he wore a MedicAlert bracelet, identifying him as diabetic, and was suffering insulin shock that nearly became a life-threatening diabetic coma.
San Mateo County prosecutors initially charged Burns with assaulting an officer and resisting arrest, but dropped the case after deciding his medical condition left him unable to control his actions.
Burns' lawsuit said properly trained police would have recognized his condition, which is not unusual in cases of childhood-diagnosed Type 1 diabetes.
The eight-member jury deliberated for three days before finding that Officer Jaime Mateo had used excessive force and that both Mateo and Sgt. David Gough had acted negligently.
Burns said he hopes the verdict discourages police from finding people "guilty by appearance."
"It could have been somebody suffering an epileptic seizure, suffering a stroke," he said. "You can't just assume somebody is a criminal."
Joseph Howard, Redwood City's lawyer, said the city will appeal. He said the two officers, both 20-year veterans, testified Burns was not wearing a bracelet, they were unaware of his illness, and they used only reasonable force to subdue him.
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