TACOMA –– The man who was punched by Sequim police outside a punk rock concert at the Oasis Bar and Grill during the 2013 Irrigation Festival filed an excessive force suit against the city and Police Chief Bill Dickinson in federal court Monday.
Attorneys for Morgan Weimer, 47, of Sequim claim officers used excessive force that violated Weimer’s civil rights when they punched him while he was face down in a planter box outside the Oasis.
They are seeking damages and attorney’s fees from the city that will be determined by the judge or jury hearing the case.
“Morgan isn’t asking for much — just medical bills, the week’s wages he lost while he was recovering and a little pain and suffering,” his attorney, John Black of Port Angeles, said.
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Weimer had filed a claim with the city’s risk management agency, but it was declined in February “because excessive force wasn’t used,” said City Manager Steve Burkett.
“This was clearly that,” Black said. “You’ve seen the video like I have. Morgan was face down getting punched.”
The suit also names Dickinson because the chief defended his officers’ tactics as necessary to make the arrest.
“For the purpose of the beating of Mr. Weimer, it was the policy, custom and practice of defendant city of Sequim to utilize excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” wrote John Meunster, a Bainbridge Island attorney enlisted by Black on this case because of his experience in trying police brutality cases.
Officers initially drove Weimer home because he told them his son was there alone.
They returned later and left a ticket for resisting arrest fourth degree assault in the mailbox outside Weimer’s front door.
A witness made a cellphone video recording of the May 12, 2013, incident which showed Officer Grant Dennis punch Weimer four times while officers Rick Larsen and Maris Turner held him down in a planter box in an arrest attempt outside the restaurant at 301 W. Washington St. A fourth officer held back onlookers.
Days after the incident, Dickinson defended his officers’ actions, saying they were trying to handcuff the man and remove him from the scene, at which a punk rock concert was playing.
“If you look at the security footage from inside the bar, you see a completely different picture,” Burkett said.
Footage from the Oasis’ cameras was cited by Dickinson to show that officers felt Weimer was resisting their attempts to arrest him after one angle shows him throwing an elbow at a man at the bar.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
