Seattle Police Brutality: SPD caused man to suffer brain damage during arrest

The family of a man who suffers from mental illness is suing the Seattle Police Department for police brutality, alleging the man suffered severe brain damage during an arrest last year. Attorney Ed Budge claims 15 Seattle police officers stepped over the line while trying to arrest his client, Brian Torgerson, on May 29, 2010. […]

Police Brutality Lawyers Obtain $1.75 Million for Victim of Violent Seattle Arrest

Seattle Times reports on $1.75 million settlement obtained by police brutality lawyers, Budge & Heipt: The city of Seattle will pay $1.75  million to a mentally ill man who suffered severe brain damage during a violent arrest involving 15 Seattle police officers in May 2010. Brian Scott Torgerson’s father had filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit […]

Father’s lawsuit blames Seattle police for son’s injuries

The father of an incapacitated man now living at Western State Hospital has sued the Seattle Police Department on his son’s behalf, claiming the mentally ill man suffered brain damage in May 2010 when officers serving a warrant used excessive force to arrest him. The lawsuit names 15 individual officers, and alleges Brian Scott Torgerson, […]

SPD caused man to suffer brain damage during arrest

SEATTLE — The family of a man who suffers from mental illness is suing the Seattle Police Department, alleging the man suffered severe brain damage during an arrest last year. Attorney Ed Budge claims 15 Seattle police officers stepped over the line while trying to arrest his client, Brian Torgerson, on May 29, 2010. Torgerson’s […]

Washington Jail Settles Wrongful Death Suit For $1.6 Million

On October 12, 2004, Jefferson County, Washington, agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit arising from the wrongful death of Kevin Bledsoe in the Jefferson County Jail. The settlement is one of the largest ever for excessive use of force by a county in the Pacific Northwest, according to the family’s attorneys. On […]

Family wins new trial on claim of brutality

Damon Lowery died in police custody in 1999 in Portland, Ore. A federal appeals court has given another victory to the family of a Snohomish County man who died in a 1999 struggle with police in Portland, Ore. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declined to overturn an Oregon federal judge’s ruling […]

County pays $1.6 million to avoid trial in case of man who died at jail

Jefferson County has paid $1.6 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit involving the March 2001 death of a 23-year old man while in custody at the county jail. The lawsuit alleged excessive force and failure to secure medical care for Kevin W. Bledsoe, who died shortly after being taken to the jail after […]

Jail death suit settled for $1.6M

Jefferson County has agreed to pay a record $1.6 million to the parents of a young Texas man who died in 2001 while in restraints at the county jail, attorneys for the parents announced Thursday. It’s the largest such award for Jefferson County and one of the largest ever for an excessive force case in […]

Jefferson County settles jail-death suit

BREMERTON — Jefferson County has agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit filed over an inmate’s death while in restraints at the county jail. Kevin Wayne Bledsoe, 23, died in 2001. His parents sued the county in federal court, alleging he was the victim of excessive force and gross mishandling by officers. “Kevin […]

Father pleased by trial reversal

The family of a Snohomish County man who died in a 1999 struggle with police in Portland, Ore., has been handed a victory by a federal judge who ruled a jury erred last fall in not holding police accountable for excessive force. U.S. District Court Judge Janice Stewart wrote she has “the definite and firm […]

If you or a loved one has been a victim of serious injury and/or death at the hands of police or in jail or prison, tell us about your case.