A jury trial to determine whether Billy Dean Haas will be awarded damages from alleged mistreatment when he was arrested Sept. 23, 2008, plodded through its first day in Allen County District Court Tuesday.
The civil lawsuit accuses Allen County Undersheriff Bryan Murphy of battery, false imprisonment and excessive force when he arrested Haas that day. Also named in the suit is Murphy’s employer, Sheriff Tom Williams. The lawsuit seeks a judgment against each defendant “in an amount in excess of $75,000, for actual and compensatory damages, his costs and all other such relief as the Court deems just and proper.”
Haas is represented by Gerald E. Wells, a Lawrence attorney.
Haas was arrested when he asked Amanda DeWitt to move from his home. She had been living there with Haas’ grandson, Jeremiah Cartright. That DeWitt and Cartright were living together without being married was an affront to his religious convictions, Haas said. The couple still live in his home and now have an infant daughter.
On Sept. 23, 2008, after taking Cartright to work in Iola, Haas told DeWitt to “pack her things and move out.”
Haas then called the sheriff’s department and asked for someone to give DeWitt a ride. Murphy was dispatched to deal with what Williams’ attorney, Steve Pigg, said Murphy thought was a domestic incident.
When Murphy arrived Haas interfered with discussions between DeWitt and Murphy, leading to his arrest and what Haas contends was excessive force in his handling.
Haas was handcuffed and placed in the patrol car with his hands and arms penned behind him against the seat.
A sticking point in testimony was whether Murphy was aware that Haas, then 81, suffered from heart problems and a chronic shoulder condition, which Haas said was exacerbated by him being handcuffed.
During testimony Tuesday afternoon Haas also said he had a history of his left shoulder dislocating, a situation not confirmed later by his physician, Dr. Timothy Spears. Haas said the “shoulder popped out” when Murphy pulled his arms back and that he suffered “excruciating pain,” then and for some days afterward. He saw his physician on Oct. 1, a week after the incident, but only pre-existing conditions were found, “no sign of acute or new injures from the arrest,” Dr. Spears testified.
In addition to Haas and Spears, DeWitt also testified Tuesday afternoon. She verified Haas’ story. The morning was spent by the selection of 12 jurors.
MORE TESTIMONY was scheduled today, including that of Cartright and, on the defense side, from Murphy and jail employees who dealt with Haas during his booking and an hour or so he was in jail before posting bond.
Haas’ attorney was spent Tuesday portraying Murphy’s handling of Haas as rough and going beyond the bounds of what should have occurred, while Pigg, in Murphy’s defense, noted that Murphy followed established law enforcement procedures in what he thought from the start was a domestic incident.
District Judge A.J. Wachter, Pittsburg, is presiding over the case.
