RACINE MAN SUING KENOSHA POLICE OVER ARREST

A Racine man whose face and neck caught fire after Kenosha police
used pepper spray and a Taser on him has filed a notice of claim with
the city of Kenosha, saying his civil rights were violated. He is
planning to sue for $50,000.

Racine-based attorney Walter Stern filed the claim on Nov. 28 on
behalf of his client, Lloyd A. King, 28.

Stern and King claim the Police Department violated King's Fourth
Amendment rights when police arrested him with excessive force. Stern
further states that King's 14th Amendment rights were violated,
alleging police used the excessive force on King because he was black.

"This never happened to a white person in Kenosha," Stern said.

Stern said he plans to file a federal lawsuit within the next six
months, when his office's investigation is complete. Stern said his
client is seeking the statutory maximum damages that can be awarded.

Police Chief Daniel C. Wade; Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian; the
Police Department's public information officer, John Morrissey; seven
police officers; and a sergeant are named in the claim.

None of the officers involved in the alleged brutality have been
disciplined and remain active in their position, Morrissey said Wednesday.

King's injuries from the alleged assault on Aug. 1 include initial
burns; severe and chronic headaches, as well as dizziness; an injury
that occurred in the Kenosha County Jail as a result of the
dizziness; and great pain, suffering and psychological distress,
according to the claim.

King claims not only did police officers cause a fire to start on his
face, but alleges the officers also choked and beat him, the claim says.

Police said King was pulled over for a traffic stop and was to be
arrested for possession of drugs when he began to resist arrest and
fight with officers.

Officers Peter Falk and K.S. Dumesic, who are both white,
simultaneously spayed pepper spray and used a Taser on the man,
causing a fire to ignite on Kings' face and neck, said

Morrissey.

Morrissey said King was not handcuffed, but King's statements to his
attorney paint a different picture.

Stern said King was dragged out of his vehicle, handcuffed, beaten
and then sprayed with pepper spray and shocked with a Taser in his
face approximately three times.

At Kenosha County Hospital and while receiving treatment in the
Kenosha County Jail, police officers allegedly hit, beat, and choked
King several times, the claim says.

According to Stern, police believed King had put crack cocaine and
marijuana into his mouth to avoid prosecution, and police used
excessive force to get King to spit it out.

"You cannot use a Taser or pepper spray to force someone to spit
something out of their mouth," Stern said.

Initial reports show police may have used a Taser on King as many as
10 times, Stern said Wednesday. The officers used an oil and alcohol
based pepper spray, also known as O/C spray which, when combined with
the electric shocks of the Taser, can start a fire.

Kenosha Police Department's procedure states: "The conduct energy
weapons shall not be used simultaneous with O/C spray, in close
proximity to open flammable liquids or in other flammable or
combustible environment."

Morrissey said the two can happen together, but just not at the same
time. "We can use whatever force is necessary to control an
individual," he said.

The department has since switched to a water-based pepper spray,
Morrissey said.

Meanwhile, King, who says he continues to have health problems,
remains in the Kenosha County Jail.

King was charged in Kenosha on Aug. 8 with possession of marijuana as
a second offense, possession of cocaine as a second offense, battery
to law officers and resisting an officer, according to Wisconsin
online court records.

King's criminal attorney, Denise S. Hertz-McGrath, has filed a motion
in Kenosha County Court to have the charges dismissed due to illegal
arrest, lack of probable cause and use of excessive force. A motion
for dismissal based on a 14th Amendment violation of due process has
also been filed.

Kenosha County Judge Anthony Milisauskas is expected to hear
arguments on Feb. 2.

Stern said the civil case was started not for the money, but to save
lives. "This case is about a change, because if that Police
Department doesn't change, they're going to kill more people and hurt
more people," he said.

Morrissey said the case was a waste of paper. "The whole claim is
about an attorney who's overzealous and trying to make a name for
himself," he said.

Since 1999, five people have been killed by Kenosha officers.

The city of Kenosha and its police department are currently being
sued by Michael E. Bell's family. They are looking for an amount to
be determined by a jury award, said Pat Dunphy, the Bell's attorney.
Police said Bell was reaching for an officer's gun when he was shot
in the head and killed on Nov. 9, 2004. The Kenosha County District
Attorney's Office ruled the shooting justifiable.