Lawsuit claims police used excessive force

A Kalispell man who alleges that city police officers used excessive force during his 2006 arrest, causing him a permanently disabling brain injury, is suing the department.

Jesse Ray Perry was injured by the arresting officers without justification or provocation, according to a complaint filed last month in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

Perry, 28, was arrested outside the Sawbuck Saloon and Casino on Oct. 26, 2006. Officers Nathan A. Vannoy and Steve Hoover were dealing with a fight outside the bar when Perry, who was not involved in the altercation, approached the scene, according to Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset.

Perry was taken into custody after officers told him repeatedly to back away and he failed to do so. He was uncooperative and taken to the ground during the arrest, Nasset said.

Adjutant Kalispell City Attorney Richard M. Hickel said that after Perrys arrest the city found no indication there were sufficient grounds for a lawsuit.

There wasnt anything that led us to believe there was a problem at the time this incident took place, he said. This seemed a very run-of-the-mill situation.

The severity of Perrys injuries and the extent, if any, to which they were caused by the officers will be examined as the case progresses, Hickel said.

Theres going to have to be discovery into that, to see what it entails, he said.

Perrys lawsuit which names the Kalispell Police Department, the city of Kalispell, the two arresting officers, and four unnamed individuals alleges a violation of civil rights, assault and battery, deprivation of necessary medical care, failure to provide necessary medical treatment, emotional distress, and negligence.

The officers misconduct … was objectionably unreasonable, and was undertaken intentionally with willful indifference to Perrys constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizure, according to the complaint.

Perrys attorney, Scott G. Hilderman of the Kalispell law firm Johnson, Berg, McEvoy & Bostok, declined to comment on the case.

Perry alleges excessive force on the part of police caused him to suffer a brain injury later diagnosed as a traumatic punctuate hemorrhage to the left frontal lobe. He reportedly also suffered cuts and bruises on his forehead.

After his arrest, Perry was put into a squad car and taken to the Kalispell Police Station, where he was booked and released.

Perry alleges the officers, after injuring him in the first place, failed to take him to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Because of the officers deliberate indifference to Perrys medical needs, Perry suffered injuries including pain, suffering, and emotional distress, according to the complaint.

Perry reportedly was taken to the hospital by family members later on Oct. 26, 2006 after he was observed walking strangely and was unable to focus his eyesight.

Perry, who has been left with permanent injuries that have diminished his capacity to earn money, is asking police and the city to pay compensatory and punitive damages.

The injuries suffered by Perry were not the kind of injuries that would ordinarily occur in the absence of negligence, according to the complaint.

The Montana Municipal Insurance Authority, a pool created by the states cities and towns to manage municipal risk and liability, has been informed of the lawsuit and will hire attorneys for the city, department, and individual officers, Hickel said.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com