Six lawsuits allege police misconduct

from the Oregonian

Salem attorney Bruce Mowery, who represents the city in some of the cases through City/County Insurance Services, said the claims --which target city officials, Sandy police officers and Clackamas County sheriff's deputies --have no merit.

All of the lawsuits accuse Sandy and Clackamas County officers of excessive force, harassment and violating defendants' constitutional rights. The suits are all separate claims, though three of the defendants share the same lawyer.

The latest case, filed March 12 in U.S. District Court in Oregon by Sandy resident Samuel Contreras, claims Contreras was set up by police and wrongfully arrested for possession of a controlled substance, having a concealed weapon and tampering with a witness. Contreras had previously been convicted for possession of firearms and charged on multiple occasions with drug possession, Sandy police said.

The other cases are:

* Estacada resident Britt Woodring alleges officers used excessive force in his arrest outside a Sandy restaurant last year.

* Juan Rubio, the father of a man whose remains were found in the woods in 2005, claims that Sandy officers were verbally abusive to him and that city officials neglected his complaints during the search for his son.

* Another Rubio lawsuit against a Sandy officer alleges Rubio was threatened during several incidents between 2004 and 2006.

* A federal lawsuit against Sandy and county officers claims the county, city and police officers violated the civil rights of Fouad Kaady, a Portland man killed after a string of hit-and-run collisions, a car fire and a possible assault. The family filed the suit. A Clackamas County grand jury last year cleared the officers of wrongdoing.

* A lawsuit filed by Sandy resident Jerry Eureal Woodford alleges Sandy police officers unrightfully tackled him and stunned him with a Taser while he was staying at a hotel.

The second Rubio suit is filed in circuit court; the others are filed in federal court.

Attorney Edward Merrill of Bend --who represents Rubio, Woodring and Contreras --said his clients filed the lawsuits not for monetary gain but to protest police department actions. Mowery, who represents Sandy on these cases, said the claims are orchestrated by the Bend attorney.