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DENVER — A federal judge sided Thursday with local police officers in a civil rights lawsuit that stemmed from a July 2004 meth raid carried out in a Frisco condominium.
U.S. District Court Judge Wiley E. Daniel ordered summary judgment in favor of the defendants — Sheriff John Minor, the Board of County Commissioners, Frisco Police Chief Tom Wickman, the town of Frisco, Undersheriff Derek Woodman, Sgt. Cale Osborn and Sgt. Mark Heminghous — in a lawsuit first filed in March 2005 by former Frisco residents Kathryn Rhodes and Joshua Brudwick.
Daniel’s judgment means the seven-day trial scheduled to begin June 4, 2007, to settle the lawsuit has been canceled.
Undersheriff Woodman, who heads up the Summit County Drug Task Force, which carried out the raid, said Friday that he was pleased with and relieved by the judge’s order.
“We stand on what our position was from the get-go. We felt this was a public safety issue, we felt the actions we took were appropriate. Obviously the judge supports us in that decision,” Woodman said.
Rhodes and Brudwick moved out of the state about a month after the raid, and declined to comment Friday evening. Their lawyer, Tim Meinert, who practices locally, called the lawsuit’s outcome unfortunate.
“I expected the judge to grant (summary judgment) so I’m not surprised, but I’m not happy, not only for the Brudwicks and their family, but for all of Summit County because if the cops can commit what they did in this case — illegally search and arrest these people with no probable cause— then we are in a sad state in Summit County and that’s the truth,” Meinert said.
Meinert said he wasn’t surprised by the outcome because earlier the judge expressed disappointment that Meinert didn’t show a pattern of behavior from police to argue against the officers’ qualified immunity. Qualified immunity limits civil liability for government officials. He said he hasn’t decided whether to appeal.
<b>Background on the case</b>
On the morning of July 25, 2004, the Summit County Drug Task Force and the local SWAT team executed a search warrant at Brudwick and Rhodes’ home on Meadow Creek Drive looking for a suspected methamphetamine lab.
The warrant had been reviewed by Assistant District Attorney Karen Romeo and issued by County Judge Ed Casias. Brudwick and Rhodes’ upstairs neighbors, Carla and David Tubbs, had previously called police four times to report noxious chemical odors coming from the downstairs unit. According to court records, the odor had dissipated by the time police arrived on the first three occasions, but on the fourth occasion, which was the same day the search occurred, two responding officers sensed a burning sensation in their throats and one felt light-headed.
Brudwick and Rhodes were handcuffed and held by officers while the search team looked through their garage and condominium for about 20 minutes, according to court documents.
The team didn’t find any methamphetamine, but found a small amount of marijuana, which they left behind. Officers noticed streaks on the walls that made it appear as though they’d been wiped down, which would be consistent with someone attempting to remove residue from a meth lab.
In the garage, officers tested bags of clothing, which showed a high reading for combustibles. A microwave in the garage was also tested, with the initial results coming up positive for meth, and secondary results coming back inconclusive.
Some doors and a mirror were broken during the search. No criminal charges against the couple were ever filed, and the Summit County Drug Task Force later reimbursed the couple’s landlord $3,060.82 for the damage his condo sustained in the incident. In October 2004, after air sampling tests from the Tubbs’ unit came back negative, Minor, Woodman and Wickman sent the couple a written apology.
Five months later, Rhodes and Brudwick sued for various search and seizure violations, false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, extreme and outrageous conduct and vicarious liability.
They asserted police officers caused unnecessary destruction to their property during the search, which was carried out without a valid search warrant because there wasn’t probable cause. They also said Minor, Woodman and Wickman made defamatory comments toward them in three newspaper articles and during one radio show following the incident.
Judge Daniel found that the plaintiffs did not show a violation of clearly established law in connection with any of the events at issue in the lawsuit, which was required in this case.
The defendants have 10 days to apply for an award of the costs incurred in this case. That decision is pending the calculation of costs by the defendant’s attorneys.
Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 13625, or at nformosa@summitdaily.com.
U.S. District Court Judge Wiley E. Daniel ordered summary judgment in favor of the defendants — Sheriff John Minor, the Board of County Commissioners, Frisco Police Chief Tom Wickman, the town of Frisco, Undersheriff Derek Woodman, Sgt. Cale Osborn and Sgt. Mark Heminghous — in a lawsuit first filed in March 2005 by former Frisco residents Kathryn Rhodes and Joshua Brudwick.
Daniel’s judgment means the seven-day trial scheduled to begin June 4, 2007, to settle the lawsuit has been canceled.
Undersheriff Woodman, who heads up the Summit County Drug Task Force, which carried out the raid, said Friday that he was pleased with and relieved by the judge’s order.
“We stand on what our position was from the get-go. We felt this was a public safety issue, we felt the actions we took were appropriate. Obviously the judge supports us in that decision,” Woodman said.
Rhodes and Brudwick moved out of the state about a month after the raid, and declined to comment Friday evening. Their lawyer, Tim Meinert, who practices locally, called the lawsuit’s outcome unfortunate.
“I expected the judge to grant (summary judgment) so I’m not surprised, but I’m not happy, not only for the Brudwicks and their family, but for all of Summit County because if the cops can commit what they did in this case — illegally search and arrest these people with no probable cause— then we are in a sad state in Summit County and that’s the truth,” Meinert said.
Meinert said he wasn’t surprised by the outcome because earlier the judge expressed disappointment that Meinert didn’t show a pattern of behavior from police to argue against the officers’ qualified immunity. Qualified immunity limits civil liability for government officials. He said he hasn’t decided whether to appeal.
<b>Background on the case</b>
On the morning of July 25, 2004, the Summit County Drug Task Force and the local SWAT team executed a search warrant at Brudwick and Rhodes’ home on Meadow Creek Drive looking for a suspected methamphetamine lab.
The warrant had been reviewed by Assistant District Attorney Karen Romeo and issued by County Judge Ed Casias. Brudwick and Rhodes’ upstairs neighbors, Carla and David Tubbs, had previously called police four times to report noxious chemical odors coming from the downstairs unit. According to court records, the odor had dissipated by the time police arrived on the first three occasions, but on the fourth occasion, which was the same day the search occurred, two responding officers sensed a burning sensation in their throats and one felt light-headed.
Brudwick and Rhodes were handcuffed and held by officers while the search team looked through their garage and condominium for about 20 minutes, according to court documents.
The team didn’t find any methamphetamine, but found a small amount of marijuana, which they left behind. Officers noticed streaks on the walls that made it appear as though they’d been wiped down, which would be consistent with someone attempting to remove residue from a meth lab.
In the garage, officers tested bags of clothing, which showed a high reading for combustibles. A microwave in the garage was also tested, with the initial results coming up positive for meth, and secondary results coming back inconclusive.
Some doors and a mirror were broken during the search. No criminal charges against the couple were ever filed, and the Summit County Drug Task Force later reimbursed the couple’s landlord $3,060.82 for the damage his condo sustained in the incident. In October 2004, after air sampling tests from the Tubbs’ unit came back negative, Minor, Woodman and Wickman sent the couple a written apology.
Five months later, Rhodes and Brudwick sued for various search and seizure violations, false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, extreme and outrageous conduct and vicarious liability.
They asserted police officers caused unnecessary destruction to their property during the search, which was carried out without a valid search warrant because there wasn’t probable cause. They also said Minor, Woodman and Wickman made defamatory comments toward them in three newspaper articles and during one radio show following the incident.
Judge Daniel found that the plaintiffs did not show a violation of clearly established law in connection with any of the events at issue in the lawsuit, which was required in this case.
The defendants have 10 days to apply for an award of the costs incurred in this case. That decision is pending the calculation of costs by the defendant’s attorneys.
Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 13625, or at nformosa@summitdaily.com.
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