Expert: Philip Sweeting - 7/5/2005

Question
Hello Kind Folks,

            My Nephew was visiting me here in Las Vegas,Nv..He is from Utah.

On his way home he was pulled over for an improper lane change, and possible DUI, in a small town called Nephi. He has Asthma and was unable to take a breathalyzer.

Becuase of this they tried to take him in and have his blood checked which is understandable, however he refused.

Nevertheless, he was beatin with-in an inch of his life. As well as denied any medicine for his asthma condition. Which I'm sure is not proper police procedure under any circumstances.

We are fortunate enough to have pictures of his two black eyes as he is sitting in Jail, behind the glass booth talking to us.

We need to know what to do now? Do we contact Internal affairs, a public defender or perhaps the news media? Any help would be greatly appreciate.
                  Sincerely,
                  T.Stroud

Answer
You should initially contact a lawyer for either the criminal charge or a civil law suit or both and go with their advice.

You could file a complaint with internal affairs but he would have to give a statement and that could be used against him for his DUI and of course they will ask him if he had been drinking. If he lies in that statement it could be a another criminal charge and hurt a possible lawsuit. And unfortunately in internal affairs complaints it is the officers word against the defendant unless there are witnesses, video, etc.In all likelyhood the police will claim the force was necessary because he resisted and if there were no lasting effects due to them denying him his medication that won't do much for a suit.

In Florida lawyers will take a civil law suit on a contingency basis. In otherwords it cost you nothing but they will take a percentage of what is recovered, usually 25-40%. But all that depends on the merits of the case.

Lawyers would like to get the initial arrest dismissed because it makes it easier when they file a law suit but even if he was convicted of DUI it does not give the police the right to use excessive force.

I am not familiar with the laws in the state where he was arrested but in FL if you refuse to give a breath test or blood, your license will be suspended solely because of the refusal and he could still be convicted of DUI based on the officer's testimony and video if they have one.

I assume he will be using the public defender for the DUI and it cost you nothing to speak to a lawyer about a civil law suit.

Hope this helps. Good luck.