Law I Firm Beverly Grant Cathy L. Adams Paralegal 3 ?4 . a! Big? 1/ P's' Beverly@BeyGrantlaw.com June 3, 2015 Steven Hall, City Manager rfuannie Roberts, Chief of Police City of Olympia Olympia Police Department PO. Box 1967 601 Ave E. Olympia, Wa. 98507 Olympia, Wa 98501 Re: Tyrone Johnson Dear Mr. Hall and Chief Roberts: Attached please find a tort claim that I am filing on behalf of my client, Mr. Tyrone Johnson. He was subjected to various torts and federal statute violations by the following City ofOlympia police officers on or about May 28, 2014: Officer R. Donald Officer George Clark Officer Jonathan Hazen Officer Eric M. Henrichsen Officer Matthew Officer Randy Wilson The actions of these officers were deliberate and despicable as the facts will show that Mr. Johnson was simply "on call? at his work, Century Link and was not committing any crimes at the time he was detained and laughed at by these police officers. Please direct all questions or correspondence to the undersigned. If I have addressed this inquiry to the wrong person, please forward it to the person you deem appropriate and have him/her contact me. Sincerely, RLY GRANT LAW FIRM, P.S. ?Wm/f ry/Grant, wner BG/ca Encls i.c. Client "Llcensed in WA. 8: CA. .H 3929 Bridgeport Way West, Suite 208 !Un versity Place, WA 98464 I Phone: 253-252-5454 FAX. 253?503?7509 ceisciaimrm. Cl 1 Receive": "Ember CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FORM MEMBER cm: OLYMPIA e? 3/'5 501mm": Name Tyrone Juhnson Date nfBinh 8/18/1968 St Address Time DfLoss l-laine -- CurrentSl Address madam, _Spallaway. WA 99387 Phone [harden Cell Phone The aliuve listed clairnani is claiming damages against ihe any of Olympia arising outafthl: described helnw I OR IN Anach copies oiall documemzunn relaung expenrcs, inlnries, losses end/er estimates inr repair. 5.25.2014 Claim Amnunt caninrylirdr ofi'lce Bldg/Garage, Olympia, WA Time ciLoss Approx, 2:3flam Demivfifln Please See Attached Siarcnacni- unicers in incldeni: (D'sc'm'h'm'm Officerk Donald kandyWilsun and clrcumsianms [m mm"le Ulficar George Clark Ofi'icer lanariian Han-n Lhe damn AND dag-men": '7 DidcerEric M. Henrichsen damagmmum ailiceriiairhewlzensrhier Witnesses avid-{cable 3 Carl Farsman Centurylink Manager 2817 Mamn Wa Olympia, Wa 98505 including name, address and mum -- hone number 0 SelecterES Pulley ND raw inn nun l-lave ynu a and id insurance cumpany? License Flare NDV year/Make/Mpdel Vehicle Owner Vehicle Driver lninrrneiipn (if not uwner] Owner Name Driver Name Driver License ND. Driver License Na. Address Address Clty/State/Zip Clty/SmlE/le eeniaci Phunu Cnnraci icne PassengerNamE(s] passenger Namrls] A lewear ar allirrn under penalty or perliiry a n: for the above described lossl mail have read are abuve claim. me conienu PRINT Maine as signcd urea; I i i sraie niWasliin ml] Cnunly ni $51101 lrerilry inazl Imow prhave rhai ls iliic person appeared heinrc me, and said aclinnwledged Illa! he/slie signed ls insirninenr and lr id he hls/lier rree and vnliiniary an uses and meniinned in rhe Date in l5 Nuiary Signature "diary 2 - Slain cl Title Eumml WELLER My Ai-pomtmenr Expires My irplm animals On the night of May 27th, 2014 and early morning of May 28th. I was called out to work at 1035pm for myjob because there was a power outage, and we had systems go down. I was called by our dispatch center, who told me that my manager (Carl Forsman) said for me to go out for the repair. I went into work got my work truck and went out to 815t NE in Olympia Wa. As I was heading North on Martin Way returning to my Centurylink garage and of?ce at 2817 Martin Way Olympia, notice there was and dark blue car following me. As I pulled into our driveway, the car behind me pulled into the turning lane and sat therework truck and started to go open the garage door, I looked back and noticed the car was a Olympia police car and of?cer. We both made contact, and I proceeded to open the garage door. I then returned to my Centurylink company (van) vehicle and the of?cer was still sitting in the turn lane. Once again contact was made. Once in my work van and started entering the building, the of?cer pulled in across the street and turned around and stayed there. I didn?t think anything of it, yet at the moment felt secure with nothing to worry about. i parked my work van, and went into my of?ce to ?nish my paperwork and time log. As I walked out into the bay to get my things and leave, I heard a voice say "freeze put your hands in the air" I didn't look towards the end ofthe building I had came in through. At this time all I was thinking is, "someone is in trouble". So as I went to take another step it was repeated again "i said freeze and put your hands in the air"! This time I did look in that direction and there were 6 of?cers with their guns drawn pointed at me, and also their ?ashlights pointed at me. i did as they said and put my hands in the air, and then I identi?ed myself to them saying "My name is Tyrone Johnson and i work here"! At no time did they ever identify themselves as the police. One of the of?cers told me to "be quiet and just keep walking towards the sound of voice"l So I did as I was told. As I got 30 feet or so from them I was then told to stop, turn around, and walk backwards to the sound of my voice. Once again I did as I was told. When I got about 15 feet or so from them, and the garage door I was told to stop and get on my knees, now put your hands on your head and interlock your ?ngers. Once again I did as was told. I then heard them rushing up to me, then they grabbed me as one of?cer grabbed my hands aggressively. They searched me, then one of the of?cers said "cuff him"! The cuf?ng of?cer was rough with me, and placed the cuffs on pretty tight. They leaned me forward to the garage ?oor, and then said they are going to stand me up. They did and I then asked "what?s going on was there a 911 call, alarms, you looking for someone going around robbing or something?" One of the of?cers said "No nothing like that, none of those things" so I said what's going on? was told to be quiet. They begin to question the building this late at night. I explained work here and was called out for a repair by my dispatch center per my manager Carl Forsmans orders, That i am the on call tech and we get called out quite a bit. explained "one of your of?cers followed me, was behind me when I pulled in and me contact with me twice" was then asked if there was anyone else in the building, and I replied They said are you sure "i said there shouldn't be" I asked once again "what's going on"? got no comment. They then told me they were going to clear the building. 5 of the of?cers started walking down the aisles of the building. The of?cer that stayed with me said, "I'm going to take you outside" so we stepped about 5 feet outside the garage door. (i could still see the other 5 officers walking through the building. The of?cer with me, was staring at me and looking into my eyes. He then says to me with a smirk on his face "you seem to be telling a believable story, but a lot of people tell a believable story" i then replied, "sir I was woken up out of my sleep to come in here and do my job, I?d rather be at home sleep with my family than in here dealing with this. l'm in my company uniform and work van I have done nothing wrong"! Then there was a call back from my of?ce, "we have a laptop" I told the of?cer, that's my co-workers laptop is in my company van on .my laptop stand, along with the rest of my stuff. He then said okay, we are going to uncuff you nowhands out in front of me. The of?cer said you can put ybur hands down. I said ?can I please fold my arms?" The of?cer said yes, so I did. He then said "i see that knife in your side cargo pocket and you better not- touch it"! i looked at the of?cer and said "yes sir, I'm not stupid! 50 we walked to the other end of the building and went to my van where they had me get my work lD, I showed it to them. They looked at my badge then me, then my badge again, them me. Another of?cer asked if-l had a second piece of ID, and replied yes! I then replied am reaching into my van for my wallet" as I kept one hand up and got my wallet. i gave the of?cer my driver?s license and he asked "is this you, do you still live here? i replied yes, and yes. He wrote down some stuff on his note pad, then someone said something on the radio and he said okay you can go.? Asthe of?cers walked away they were laughing it up and walking away as if they didn?t nething wrong, like it'was a game. None of the of?cers ever identi?ed themselves, rendered an apology or anything. I feel my rights were totally violated and i haven't been able to sleep and live my life comfortable since. As was leaving I noticed that all their cars except for the one black and white'car that was now parked in the turn lane as was leaving the building were running. All the other cars were hidden on the front side of our building behind the trees with their lights and engines off. As I pulled out, one of the of?cers got in their car and followed me to the freeway. At the time this happened I feared for my life not knowing what was going on. I was scared to move, with the fear of moving the wrong way could get me shot and killed. I just wanted to retorn home to my family. My life has changed drastically since this. I am the only African American that works in the Olympia apit lwire .ter area and now fear for my life. Connie Cobb From: Matthew Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2014 5:41 AM To: Connie Cobb Cc: Dan Smith; Ryan Donald Subject: RE: Olympia PD Call ID: 141480051 - Request for Comments in Anticipation of a Claim l-li Connie, I reviewed the CAD notes and remember the incident you?re inquiring about. Officer Donald was not responding to a call for service but initiated his investigation during routine patrol duties. You should expect an email from him with additional details regarding his observations by July 11. I arrived at the scene of the unsecure building within 1-2 minutes of hearing Officer Donald advising dispatch of the situation at about 0229 AM and observed the entire 1 interaction between Officers and Mr. Johnson as described below: Officer Donald knocked on the side of the building, identified himself as a Police Officer, and asked anyone in the building to come out. Mr. Johnson emerged from a back office space, located at the furthest end ofthe building from the entry point, and stated that he worked at the building. He was told to keep his hands in view and walk toward the Officers, at which point he was told to turn away from the Officers and get into a kneeling position. Officer Hazen then placed Mr. Johnson in handcuffs, helped him stand up and walked with him out the door, where assumed custody of him. (Please note, as a Master Defensive Tactics Instructor through the Wa'shington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, I can confirm the tactics described and detention of Mr. Johnson was done in accordance with training and common police practices). I remained with Mr. Johnson while the Officers continued to search the building for any other people. I observed he had a company shirt or name tag on him at that time, which would likely not have been visible to the Officers up until this point, and decided to remove the handcuffs. He was detained in handcuffs for 3-4 minutes and had been released by me before the Officers had completed their search ofthe building. I examined his wrists and confirmed there was no visible injury. We spoke casually while the Officers were searching the building and for the next approximate 5 minutes, during which point he never complained of any injury to me or made any indication that experienced any distress during the incident. [f you have any additional questions for me, don?t hesitate to ask. Thanks. From: Connie Cobb Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 4:35 PM To: Matthew Ryan Donald Subject: Olympia PD Call ID: 141480051 - Request for Comments in Anticipation of a Claim Hi Matt and Ryan, I received an update today regarding the incident noted below. I have been in contact with CenturyLink?s Worker?s Comp 3rd party administrator. Mr. Johnson has not returned to work since the May 28 incident and is alleging he suffers from PTSD. I also contacted Dispatch to inquire about who-initiated the call ofan unsecured premise. was told Officer Donald made the call to Dispatch while he was enroulte or already on scene. I would like to get some additional background as to observations or what occurred that caused Ryan to make the call to Dispatch, along with the other information requested below. I understand Ryan?s out until the 10?h or so. At this point i haven?t received a claim, so lam ok with waiting until his return for the information unless you are in the know and can respond for him. Thanks Connie Cobb Executive Deportment City ofOlympiO PO Box l%7 Olympia WA 98507-1967 Phone: (360) 753~845l Fox: (360) 570?3791 Emoil: ccobb@ci.olymoio.wo.us Our Mission: Working Together to Moke 0 Difference Connect With Us! All e-rnoil to and from this address is a public record. From: Connie Cobb Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2014 3:29 PM To: Matthew Ryan Donald Subject: Olympia PD Call ID: 141480051 - Request for Comments in Anticipation of a Claim Hi Matt and Ryan, I received the attached letter from Sedgwick Claims Management Services on behalf of CenturyLink related to an incident May 28, 2014. There is no police report, but the CAD it is 141480051. From what I was told about that by Sgt. Duncan, OPD responded to an unsecure premise at 2817 Martin Way E. Tyrone L. Johnson was detained, but not arrested. l?m not sure what injuries he is claiming yet, but since there are no police reports, I am looking for a memo outlining what occurred, what was observed in terms of any visible injuries, or conversations with Mr. Johnson regarding any alleged injury resulting from his contact with Officers on scene. Whatever you can provide that will help determine whether there may be City liability in this incident, would be appreciated. Thanks. Connie Cobb Executive Department City otOlympio PO Box 1967 Olympia WA 98507-1967 Phone: (360) 753-8451 Fox: (360) 570-379] Emoil: ccobb@ci.olvmoio.wo.us Website: Our Mission: Working Together to Make 0 Difference Connect ith Us! 'iL' Connie Cobb From: Ryan Donald Sent: Monday, July 28, 2014 8:11 PM To: Connie Cobb Subject: RE: Olympia PD Call ID: 141480051 Request for Comments in Anticipation of a Claim No problem. I was driving by in the early morning hours and observed the drive-in bay door to be standing wide open and very minimal light on inside of the building. There was not an alarm call, this was self-initiated activity. have driven by this building hundreds oftimes and never have seen it open so late at night/early in the morning. This caused me concern (burglary/suspicious circumstance), so i stopped near the building, and notified dispatch of my observations. I kept an on the door and interior ofthe building from the outside perimeter, until other officers joined me so we could have a look inside and contact anybody who might be in there. R. Donald From: Connie Cobb Sent: Friday, July 25, 2014 3:26 PM To: Ryan Donald Subject: RE: Olympia PD Call ID: 141480051 Request for Comments in Anticipation of a Claim l-ii Officer Donald, Thanks for the information below. Iwasn?t able to tell from the CAD report how the call was initiated in the first place so I called Dispatch and they indicated you called to Dispatch to advise you were enroute. Would you provide details of what occurred that caused CPU to respond initially? Thanks. Connie Cobb Executive Department City of Olympio PO Box Olympio WA 98507?1967 Phone: (360) 753?8451 Fox: (360) 570-3791 Emoil: ccobb?ci.olymoio.wo.us Our Mission: Working Together to Moke Difference Connect With Us! All e-moil to and from this address is public record. From: Ryan Donald Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2014 6:47 AM To: Connie Cobb Subject: RE: Olympia PD Call ID: 141480051 ?_Request for Comments in Anticipation of a Claim .- ?fs i-li Connie, my apologies for the delay. I?m su'if'e1 you received Sgt. reply regarding this incident. He was with me during the entire contact I had with Mr. 10 tnson, so our version of events is not only factual, but identical. It was as 'i simple as calling into the unsecured building, where Mr. Johnson appeared. [directed him to my location where he was detained in handcuffs for only a few minutes, until we determined he was not a burglary suspect. He did not complain of injury, nor was there any obvious injury as a result of being placed into handcuffs. The conversation with Mr. Johnson afterward was casual, and i believe even ended with a joke or two, laughing about the situation. Johnson gave no indication he was in distress at all and recall correctly, may have even thanked us for keeping an on the building. Please let me know if you have any further questions or need clarification. Thanks! R. Donald From: Connie Cobb Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2014 3:29 PM To: Matthew Ryan Donald Subject: Olympia PD Call ID: 141480051 Request for Comments in Anticipation of a Claim Hi Matt and Ryan, I received the attached letter from Sedgwick Claims Management Services on behalf of CenturyLink related to an incident May 28, 2014. There is no police report, but the CAD ii is 141480051. From what I was told about that by Sgt. Duncan, OPD responded to an unsecure premise at 2817 Martin Way E. Tyrone L. Johnson was detained, but not arrested. I?m not sure what injuries he is claiming yet, but since there are no police reports, I am looking for a memo outlining what occurred, what was observed in terms of any visible injuries, or conversations with Mr. Johnson regarding any alleged injury resulting from his contact with Officers on scene. Whatever you can provide that will help determine whether there may be City liability in this incident, would be appreciated. Thanks. Connie Cobb Executive Deporin?ienl City ofOlympio PO Box 1967 Olympio WA 98507-1967 Phone: [360) 753~8451 Fox: (360) 570-379] Emoil: ccobb?ci.olvmoio.wo.us Our Mission: Working Together to Moke c1 Difference Connect With Us! it All e?rnail to and from this address is a public record.