Eugene Police Chief Kerns wants 'to take the long route home'

Eugene, OR - Police Chief Peter Kerns says an officer was "justified" in tasering a non-English speaking Chinese student (who was in his very own rented town house). The mamby-pamby, complete wussey of an officer felt "threatened" by the huge-and-scary, 6-foot 13-inch tall, 350-lb., martial arts master, 19-year old that had just arrived to take English classes at the University of Oregon. City Police Auditor Mark Gissiner, who oversaw a police department investigation into the case, says he disagrees with Kerns. [LINK]

Eugene Ore. - The legal team for the non-English speaking Chinese student tased by a Eugene Police officer plans to sue the City of Eugene. ... [LINK]


This incident will be a good example of how the existance of video, both the plaintiff's cell phone video, and officer's taser video, has any effect on how long it takes the city to rummage around to find their cheque book.


My recommendation, as always, is to demand an explicit, unequivocal, written letter of apology (signed by the mayor, the chief, and the officer) along with a good-size 5-figure settlement. If the city is unwilling to admit wrongdoing, then hold-out for a significantly larger settlement. Make denial an expensive option.

That letter of apology will be worth every penny of the discount, because it will avoid that annoying gnawing feeling in the pit of the victim's stomach when those that are clearly in the wrong march around with their chests puffed out and loudly deny the obvious. Allowing that display should cost a small fortune.

(If applicable, attorney's fees need to be tweaked to achieve the best outcome if they're set as a simple fraction.)