Police used excess force, lawsuit says

By Domingo Ramirez Jr.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Aaron Christian Jacobson is shown after his arrest on a DWI charge by North Richland Hills police in January 2003. A jury later found him not guilty of the charge.

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS - A new federal lawsuit against the North Richland Hills Police Department claims an officer repeatedly slammed a handcuffed Hurst motorist's head into his driveway in January 2003 during a DWI stop.

The lawsuit says the officer, Filipe Carmichael, is shown in a police videotape of the incident bragging to other officers about pounding the face of Aaron Christian Jacobson into the ground and describing the sound it made.

Police did not provide the tape Wednesday, but Jacobson's attorney released a copy. On the tape, Jacobson pleads with officers to let him go because he hasn't done anything and occasionally curses at them.

Carmichael, 32, whose nickname is "Psycho," testified in Jacobson's driving while intoxicated trial that he used force on Jacobson because the Hurst resident "looked him up and down," the lawsuit says. A Tarrant County jury found Jacobson not guilty in July of the DWI charge.

Jacobson, 26, seeks an undisclosed amount of damages in the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Fort Worth.

North Richland Hills Assistant Chief of Police John Lynn declined to comment Wednesday because of the pending litigation, and he referred questions to City Attorney George Staples.

Staples was out of town Wednesday, but an official in his office said that the city had not received the lawsuit.

The department already faces several lawsuits, including two consolidated wrongful-death federal lawsuits in connection with the 1999 death of Troy Davis.

The son of true-crime author Barbara Davis was shot to death by a North Richland Hills SWAT officer during a drug raid.

Jacobson, who passed out several times during the beating, suffered a concussion, inner ear damage, massive trauma to his cheek and eye, and severe cuts to his eyebrow, according to the lawsuit.

"He was brutalized in his own driveway," said John H. Carney of Dallas, Jacobson's attorney. "Officers there are working in a culture of violence."

(Tom) SHOCKLEY

It names Carmichael, the city, the Police Department, Police Chief Tom Shockley and officer Shayne Kotara, 29, as defendants.

The lawsuit says the officers violated Jacobson's civil rights and used excessive force in making an unlawful arrest.

Carney said that Jacobson waited until the criminal case was over to file the lawsuit in order to use the officers' testimony in the civil proceeding. Carney's firm filed the lawsuit within a week of being hired.

The lawsuit gives this account of the incident:

A motorist called 911 shortly before 12:30 a.m. Jan. 31, 2003, to report that another motorist was driving erratically at Precinct Line Road and Davis Boulevard in North Richland Hills. The witness said the driver opened the driver's door and "got sick" at a signal light. The motorist described the vehicle as a Chevrolet Silverado.

Kotara was dispatched and saw Jacobson's Chevrolet Silverado truck. Jacobson did not violate any traffic laws en route to his home, the lawsuit says.

Kotara followed Jacobson onto his driveway, got out of the police car and walked up to the driver. He said he could smell alcohol and vomit on Jacobson's breath. Then, Carmichael arrived.

Jacobson refused a sobriety test.

At some point, the officers took Jacobson to the ground and handcuffed him.

Then, as he stood handcuffed and waiting to get into a patrol car, Carmichael threw him to the ground and repeatedly slammed his face into the concrete driveway.

At his DWI trial in July, officers testified that Jacobson never tried to resist arrest, said David Finn of Dallas, Jacobson's attorney at the trial.

After the beating, an ambulance was called, and police took Jacobson to a local hospital.

He was treated and released.

The police videotape recorded Carmichael saying that he "was racing up to get that DWI. I was working to get one more before the month was over."

The lawsuit states that the Police Department has a quota/reward system for DWI arrests for its police officers. Police would not comment on a quota system.

Jacobson was previously arrested on suspicion of DWI in North Richland Hills, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.

He was charged with DWI in April 1999 but was sentenced to two years of probation with deferred adjudication on a charge of obstructing a highway, records show.

The lawsuit says Car-michael has a history of violence and abuse when making arrests. The Police Department has required him to attend anger-management counseling for his violent behavior, the lawsuit states. Information on how many complaints have been made against him was not available Wednesday.

Neither disciplinary nor commendation records were available Wednesday for Carmichael and Kotara.

Carmichael was a jailer with the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department from July 1997 until October 1997, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. He received no disciplinary action during that time, said Terry Grisham, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department executive administrator.

He joined the North Richland Hills force in February 1998. Kotara joined the department in December 2001.

Federal lawsuits filed against North Richland Hills

May 2000 -- The estate of Troy Davis filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Police Department. Davis, the son of true-crime writer Barbara Davis, was fatally shot during a drug raid in 1999. The case is pending.

2001 -- A lawsuit alleging an illegal search and seizure was filed against the city and the North Richland Hills SWAT team. In April 1999, the team raided a house without knocking, believing a narcotics dealer was inside. An undisclosed settlement was reached in 2003.

2001 -- Former SWAT team member Ann Shelton filed a lawsuit accusing the Police Department of sexual harassment. In October 2002, City Attorney George Staples said the suit was settled for $10,000.

December 2001 -- True-crime writer Barbara Davis files her own wrongful-death lawsuit against the Police Department in connection with the death of her son. The case is pending.