Surfer loses lawsuit against LAPD officers
I thought this might be of interest to the surfing crowd out there....
From City News Service:
A federal jury rejected a Venice surfer's claim that two LAPD officers unnecessarily punched and pepper-sprayed him in 2006, after he refused to follow a lifeguard's orders to leave the water.
The five-man, three-woman civil jury returned its verdict late Monday after a week-long trial of
Gregory Falk's $750,000 lawsuit against the officers and the City of Los Angeles on
allegations of excessive force, civil rights violations and malicious prosecution.
Deputy City Attorney Christian Bojorquez successfully argued that Falk became
"confrontational" when the lifeguard asked him to leave the water.
"His response was, 'I'll leave when I'm ready,'" Bojorquez said, adding that when the two Los
Angeles police officers arrived, Falk seemed to lunge at them.
From City News Service:
A federal jury rejected a Venice surfer's claim that two LAPD officers unnecessarily punched and pepper-sprayed him in 2006, after he refused to follow a lifeguard's orders to leave the water.
The five-man, three-woman civil jury returned its verdict late Monday after a week-long trial of
Gregory Falk's $750,000 lawsuit against the officers and the City of Los Angeles on
allegations of excessive force, civil rights violations and malicious prosecution.
Deputy City Attorney Christian Bojorquez successfully argued that Falk became
"confrontational" when the lifeguard asked him to leave the water.
"His response was, 'I'll leave when I'm ready,'" Bojorquez said, adding that when the two Los
Angeles police officers arrived, Falk seemed to lunge at them.
Falk's attorney, John Raphling, described his client as "basically a mellow, middle-aged guy"
who wanted to prove a point -- that the "no surfing" flag lifeguards had hoisted near the Venice
Beach breakwater that day was needless since the water was mild and few swimmers were
around.
When the two LAPD officers showed up, they "inflicted pain on him for no reason" -- pulling
Falk's arm back, punching him in the face, handcuffing him and pepper-spraying him at close
range, his attorney alleged.
Falk was later charged with battery on a police officer, simple assault, resisting arrest and
unauthorized surfing, Raphling said.
Falk's chief witness was "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" actress Jorja Fox, who said she
had come to the Venice surf spot just before the confrontation took place.
She testified that she saw the police officers from the Venice Beach Foot Patrol handcuff Falk
and "punch him in the face." She also said the officers "sprayed a substance in his face" from
a distance of about a foot. Fox said she never saw any resistance from Falk.
"I was upset by what I'd seen," she told jurors.
Bojorquez argued that the officers acted only when they were met with continued resistance
from Falk. During the course of the struggle, he said, officers used pepper spray and a
"distraction strike," or punch, to subdue Falk and place him in custody.
After the more serious charges were dropped in early 2007, Falk entered a plea to
unauthorized surfing and paid a $100 fine, Raphling said.
who wanted to prove a point -- that the "no surfing" flag lifeguards had hoisted near the Venice
Beach breakwater that day was needless since the water was mild and few swimmers were
around.
When the two LAPD officers showed up, they "inflicted pain on him for no reason" -- pulling
Falk's arm back, punching him in the face, handcuffing him and pepper-spraying him at close
range, his attorney alleged.
Falk was later charged with battery on a police officer, simple assault, resisting arrest and
unauthorized surfing, Raphling said.
Falk's chief witness was "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" actress Jorja Fox, who said she
had come to the Venice surf spot just before the confrontation took place.
She testified that she saw the police officers from the Venice Beach Foot Patrol handcuff Falk
and "punch him in the face." She also said the officers "sprayed a substance in his face" from
a distance of about a foot. Fox said she never saw any resistance from Falk.
"I was upset by what I'd seen," she told jurors.
Bojorquez argued that the officers acted only when they were met with continued resistance
from Falk. During the course of the struggle, he said, officers used pepper spray and a
"distraction strike," or punch, to subdue Falk and place him in custody.
After the more serious charges were dropped in early 2007, Falk entered a plea to
unauthorized surfing and paid a $100 fine, Raphling said.
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I'd say that he was pretty lucky getting away with only a $100 fine and a little pepper spray in his face.
Maybe he'll think twice next time before mouthing off to law enforcement.
guess a whiteboy can't sue the cops for a windfall. only minorities can get away with that.
Unauthorized surfing is a serious crime in this town worthy of pepper spray and a beating. I feel safer already.
I hope Jorja Fox never gets another acting gig as a law enforcement officer again.
Raphling is also worthless.
Obviously Fox didn't yield much credibility, since the jury sided with the officers. Hey, maybe she should take a real stand, and turn down any portrayals of law enforcement officers, since they upset her so much. Won't happen though, that impacts the wallet too greatly. She apparently has principles, but only if at a small cost.
Worthless actress testimony at best. All she saw was the officers reacting to the surfers actions she didn't see. Obviously the jury didn't think much of her acting ability on the stand.
They should have handcuffed the surfer and put him on his surf board and push him back into the beach.
what a worthless lawsuit, he wanted to act like an ass so he was treated like one.
Jorja Fox needs to get some Civilian LAPD Academy Training to better understand why the Officers took the action they took.
Watching police use force is like trying to read Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Unless you are train on it and/or had hands on experience, you get a better understanding on how Police Officers operate.
Like one of our former Chiefs said, with Boston accent, "Police Work in never pretty."
Centurion
Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking he just could have gotten out of the water and surfed another day. A punch to the face is not a "beating" and pepper spraying an uncooperative beligerent individual is well within the City's guidelines. A typical spoiled Angeleno that feels he is immune from authority.
Had the lifeguard given in to Falk and he fell off his board and hurt himself (whether his own fault or nature's), he probably would have sued the lifeguard and the county for not following their own rules. The lifeguard and police did their jobs by preventing an idiot from having the opportunity to sue others for their own stupidity.
Even a person wrongly arrested by a police officer is obligated to submit to arrest. A person my be wrongfully identified as a suspect in a crime and the police need to detain him, maybe even using handcuffs. The person has an obligation to submit and if not, the officers are legally justified in using force necessary overcome the resistance.
It's got nothing to do with "surfing" and what a minor violation it might have been. If the man had just follow the rules and come back another day, the cops would not have even been there.
And resistance against an arrest can be quite passive at times, but when a cop is trying to handcuff someone and they are cooperating, the cop isn't gonna wait for him to get punched. He's gonna use some force to make the arrest before the person can escalate the resistance more.
here we go again...its always those racial remarks /we need to move forward as a community and take responsibility...Don't throw out the race cards....shame on you!
Hank Lebowski said:
guess a whiteboy can't sue the cops for a windfall. only minorities can get away with that.
I am surprised that the department didn't hammer the officers for causing the use of force because their uniform was dirty or they were wearing candy bars for boots. The old training from ten years ago that stipulates that if an officer gets into a use of force, then obviously he/she did something wrong.
If this is the Greg Falk of San Diego State, circa 1963, he certainly should know better about personal conduct. Perhaps TKE didn't teach their pledges about those kinds of things.
The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office must consider filing a lawsuit against Mr. Falk for Malicious lawsuit to recover the amount of money expended to depend the the City and the officers for his malicious lawsuit.
Mr. Falk's action appeared to be an ambush to instigate confrontation with the Officers and then file a lawsuit for excessive force. To me, his action is too obvious. Refused a lawful order from a peace officer knowing that the officers had duties to enforce the law. Why resist? I wonder if the word is out that the City of Los Angeles is dolling out money to on even the most stupid claim.
You know Chief Bratton made his career when he talked a southie into giving up his weapon and surrendering peacefully.
Falk was no threat, clearly had no weapons and was continuing a dialog.
Police work can turn into something that is not pretty, but good police work involves a level of finesse.
The police behave like a gang of thugs most of the time , they are rarely held accountable.
The police behave like a gang of thugs most of the time , they are rarely held accountable.
I think the police overected.
As you said this is a interesting story.I should say not all the time but this time good police work.