Lawsuit against ex-Mpls. cop in Taser case is settled

The final piece of a 2009 lawsuit that stemmed from a Minneapolis police officer’s use of a Taser to subdue a suspect was settled Wednesday, according to U.S. District Court documents. Details of the settlement were not made public, and neither the former officer, Todd Lappegaard, nor the plaintiff Rolando Ruiz, now 21, or his attorney, Al Goins, could be reached for comment.

Lappegaard lost his job as a result of the April 2009 incident, in which he stunned Ruiz in the neck and back with a Taser for at least 10 seconds. Ruiz was standing with his hands on the hood of Lappegaard’s patrol car when he was stunned, falling to the ground. Lappegaard argued that he was concerned Ruiz would fight, but city officials said Lappegaard should have waited for nearby officers to assist with the arrest.

The city paid $75,000 to Ruiz in March 2010, plus $45,066 for his attorney’s fees to settle the suit. The 2010 payment resolved Ruiz’s claims against the city of Minneapolis and Police Chief Tim Dolan, but not the claim against Lappegaard.

Lappegaard, a 17-year veteran of the police department, felt the firing was unfair but he was never rehired by the Minneapolis police.

Thank you for posting the update. As I wrote above, exoneration is routine in these cases. Often this is followed by promotion of the officer, reminding the public that abuses are not just tolerated but are, in fact, encouraged.

Here’s my hint for the day, go to E-bay, look under collectables\Breweriana, Beer\bottles: glass. You’re (in theory) buying the bottles as collectibles, so it’s mostly hard to find\ regional\high end stuff. It’ll cost you a bit, but it can be worth it. Just make sure that anything you buy says “unopened.”

My comments come from a guy who can recite the little banner information paragraph on the Bud bottle verbatim.

Don’t know if horse piss would pass, but I’ve been known to enjoy a Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Of course, Sam is better than all of these. But in the world of beers, I have had some that make Sam pale, in comparison. But I still buy it.

I tried Yiengling (sp?) and didn’t like it at all. But what do I know, ‘cept what I like. Stick to the Sams and the good stuff when I get by there.

BuelahMan, I’m a proud Sam Adams drinker and I’m thinking about having one of his Irish Red brews with lunch in fact. They make a perfectly good beer in a variety of styles for a reasonable price. And he was a patriot. Patriot and brewer. It’s your American duty to drink Sam Adams beer.

We have a really good local brewery owned by the Schlafly family and they make some excellent beer but since it’s Schlafly (Of Phyllis Schlafly founder of the Eagle Forum fame.) I won’t drink it. She was no patriot and I won’t enrich her family.

Sam Adams, patriot and brewer!

No problem, next time you visit your sister (who I believe you said was in Denver), let me know. My day job is at one of the bigger liquor stores in the State which is in one of the ‘burbs. I could give you a tour of our beer room.

That is frickin’ Highlarious

Sadly, the best beer available for me (close at hand) is a Sam Adams (yes, sad). Anything else is at least an hour drive round trip.

I am really intrigued by the Maredsou Abbey Ale #11, BiL was discussing.

And I agree that Unibrau has several different varieties that I have tried and are excellent. I haven’t tried the apple, but would if I could find it.

I live in a very small town still enamored by Budweiser.

thanks for the info. I am not a hop head. I like a more understated role for the hops. You should know they are there but they should not beat you over the head. They can overpower the other flavors in the beer.

I actually like the Belgium Style beers that I have had, but I have had limited exposure.

A buddy and I are going to do a little home brewing this Saturday and for some reason he was asking if I knew any good beers. I only know a couple but I figured you would as would Buddha.

Beulah Man seems to have given the common denominator of Malty Magnificence as both you and Buddha are fans. I should have figured it was that good when he said he would drive 4 hours to get a few bottles.

With bottle conditioned beers (which have live yeast and are sometimes called “on lees”) don’t pour the whole thing (Except with some wheat beers), you’ll get the yeast, and in addition to clearing your digestive track out the next day, you’ll change the flavor significantly. It takes a little practice, but it’s pretty obvious once you hit the yeast.

How on earth did I miss a beer discussion?

Just drank the last of a four pack of La Fin Du Monde last night (We call it stupid juice around my house, due to the 750 two of us split one night). I love Unibrau, and aside from their Apple beer (and that’s just because I didn’t like the style, the quality was great), haven’t had a bad one from them yet. They tend to do Belgian styles, so expect a fairly high alcohol content that’s fairly sweet and will sneak up on you. LFDM is a triple, which is sort of hit or miss with me, some are a little too bubblegum-sweet (Belgian beers sometimes have candy sugar as an adjunct).

If you’re looking for good ‘extreme’ beers (higher alcohol, unique flavors, one a night type deals): Dogfish head, Unibrau, Avery, Laginetas, Boulevard, and Ommegang (which actually makes most of my favorite Belgian style beers) are a great way to go, and are pretty widely available.

For more regular session beers: Left Hand, Windmer, Brooklyn, and Sam Adams are all good American brewers; Paulaner, Spatan, and Warstiener are my favorite German brewers; Samual Smith, Youngs, are good English. I’d have to know a little more about what you think is a good beer to recommend anything specific.

A warning about Beer advocate and Rate beer: They tend to be populated by hop heads, so some low-hop styles are reviewed poorly just because the people doing the review don’t know what they’re talking about.

I believe the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) has their guidelines posted online, and at the end of every style description will be a list of beers they feel are excellent examples of that style. But just because a beer isn’t on that list doesn’t mean it’s bad, just not what people expect for that particular style, or not widely available.

Some other good resources would be to get a hold of one of Michael Jackson’s books or Garrett Oliver’s “The Brewmaster’s Table.”

thanks for the beer website.

I am married.

You’re a fool not to take that four hour drive. ‘Nuff said.

That is an excellent ale. But you are right about the alcohol content. It WILL sneak up on you. So will another fine ale (made in Belgium) called Maredsou Abbey Ale #11. It’s a tripple. Possibly one of the tastiest malt beverages I’ve ever had although a bit darker and fuller bodied than La Fin Du Monde, but man oh man, it can sneak up with Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. I’ve been told me and a furniture designer buddy celebrated his birthday one year with pitchers of Maredsou. I don’t recall specifics of the evening, or indeed, that entire weekend. The #11 runs at about 10%. It’s almost a barley wine, but so tasty you almost forget it’s beer. If you like ale and haven’t tried it, it’s worth a taste. I don’t drink often, but about twice a year I get a craving and go have one. They also make a dupple (8%) and a blond (6%) which may be more to your tastes if you like La Fin.

Byron,

Check out this sight if you want good beer reviews.

http://beeradvocate.com

Didn’t mean to infer that I do it often JUST for the beer. My work takes me thru Memphis often enough for me to replenish whenever necessary. I probably don’t drink, on average, 1 beer per week, if that.

But I used to…

that must be some good beer! I would not drive 4 hours for an illict affair with Eva Mendes.

Down here, I only know of one place to buy it and I have to drive two hours one way.

thank you, with 9% alchohol it will be a delerious state and delicious too.

“Over time, the collective failure of prosecutors to pursue police abuses could become a significant factor in destabilizing society.”

Aren’t most police offers law abiding? The abuses we see are concentrated because of this blog. And certainly not all prosecutors are honest. But isn’t it because most police are professional and most prosecutors are law abiding that the malfeasance seems that much more egregious?

Much like when you are sick, it is not a natural state and so you react negatively.

Try La Fin Du Monde.

http://www.unibroue.com/products/fin.cfm

A triple fermented, 9% alcohol, French Canadian Golden Ale which is likely one of the very best beers I ever drank. Truly phenomenal.

I need your help, what are some good beers? You seem to know a thing or 2 about beer.

If anyone else wants to chime in please do.

As these tactics by officers spread, more and more common criminals (and just everyday speeders) will feel compelled to take stronger measures to evade police.

While these reactions may have been dismissed as paranoia or mental instability in the past it will become clear that many of these individuals are everyday people who simply have a heightened fear of law enforcement.

Ultimately police abuses will lead to vigilante actions against officers, both at the point of contact and as planned retribution by individuals against unpunished officers.

Government will continue to anonymize officers and new weapons technologies will move to everyday deployment. I expect this to include sonic weapons (as seen in Pittsburgh), green lasers that temporarily blind, and the thermal laser gun. These new weapons will raise fears further, and they too will be widely abused over time.

If society fails to manage misconduct by police, eventually I would expect to see cases sufficiently outrageous to be a catalyst for organization of small groups willing to use violence against rogue officers.

Over time, the collective failure of prosecutors to pursue police abuses could become a significant factor in destabilizing society.

Vic – Can you see an action that “led up” to this assault that would justify the officer’s actions?

Growing up as a kid in the city of Chicago, we had a pretty clear understanding that a large portion of police officers (not all) engaged in this type of assault on suspects. Before the convenience of tasers, it was billy clubs, fists, boots and sometimes more creative implements. This fundamentally shattered any idea of “trusting” police officers – that they would act responsibly when issuing orders to citizens, that you should simply comply with their orders. You did what officers ordered not out of trust, but out of fear of their violence. That may be fine in Iran or Russia, but it’s nuts in America.

Last night Chief Tim Dolan released the following statement regarding the incident to which you refer:

The Minneapolis Police Department finds the recent video regarding the use of a Taser very disturbing. As a result, we have asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to review the case for possible civil rights violations. The Minneapolis City Attorney will also review for possible criminal charges. Lt. Glampe of the Minneapolis Internal Affairs will be coordinating the reviews.

Minneapolis Police training and policies related to use of force and Tasers are based upon national best practices and standards. We take any violations of those policies very seriously.

If you have other concerns please feel free to contact me. By state law we cannot comment beyond the above statement however.

Sgt. William J. Palmer
Minneapolis Police Department
Public Information Officer
350 South 5th Street Room 130
Minneapolis, Mn 55415
direct 612-673-2896 cell 612-919-9362 fax 612-673-2613
william.palmer@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
police-pio@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

You’re absolutely right on all counts! After poking around a bit looking at settlements to people who have been tasered it’s an acceptable cost of doing business. The government’s insurance company’s routinely settle rather than risk going to trial.

My erroneous thought (won’t be my last) was that with shrinking budgets governments would manage differently.

Prosecutors are not interested in pursuing even the most obvious crimes by police.–puzzling

Evan when wrongful death cases (excited delirium ≠ taser use) are settled, the police department maintained that officers followed procedure in the incident.

puzzling thanks again for corralling the facts and stating them so succinctly.

Should that read “should be [fried]“? After all, you are proposing to taze him.

I hope it’s a Belgian style…

http://www.delirium.be/

If you’ll hold him, I’ll taze him.

Can I use that name for a beer?

The Taser is becoming a socially accepted extra-judicial punishment. Whether or not these cases settle for $75K or $1M matters very little. The evidence for acceptance by society is the unchecked growth in these abuses. Let’s face it: torture by law enforcement officers is perpetrated daily in plain view of cameras. Cases that should outrage the public simply do not.

Although many municipalities just settle with our tax dollars I see very few real consequences for the agents of the government who perpetrate the acts themselves. Department policies on use of force are rarely tightened. Internal investigations consistently vindicate officers. Prosecutors are not interested in pursuing even the most obvious crimes by police.

I see little hope that this force drift reverses. If anything, I expect it to get far worse as our paramilitarized police continue to push the envelope with new weapons and ever broader application of extreme force.

In the mean time:

Timothy Dolan
Chief of Police
350 South 5th Street
Room 130
Minneapolis, MN 55415-1389
(612) 673-3787

E-mail: police@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

Tip Line at (612) 692-TIPS (8477)

HN County Attorney/Victim Assistance …(612) 348-4003

I believe that Mr. Ruiz and his lawyer have made a huge mistake. $75,000 is low ball, unless Mr. Ruiz was doing something entirely evil (on the scale of eating children, or just killed several officers) just before the video starts.

Another incident was just settled for $100,000:

http://excited-delirium.blogspot.com/2009/11/kaching-100000-settlement-for-police.html

I’d say that the $75,000 must include an explicit apology. If they refuse to admit it was a mistake, then slide the decimal point one place to the right. Those agreements of “no admission of liability or error” should cost a fortune.

That officer should be fired.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s employee takes documents from defense attorney:

(I couldn’t find an email link)