He Sued A Cop For Excessive Force, And It Blew Up In His Face….

A suspect filed a complaint against the arresting officer for using excessive force after resisting arrest. However, amid allegations that the officer used excessive force while arresting, he was unfortunate to lose his case. The judge’s order for the suspect to give the officer something else was the cherry on top, though; resulting in the judge ordering his accuser to pay the officer’s legal expenses.

The incident happened after Officer Christopher Janes went to the location after receiving a complaint from a woman that her ex-boyfriend had stolen her property. Timothy Harris, 38, who was wanted for violating his probation was encountered by Officer Janes and according to reports, Officer Janes had noticed that Harris’ car smelled like marijuana while having been illegally parked.

Timothy Harris, 38, was arrested for an outstanding warrant after his ex-girlfriend called the police on him for stealing her property.

Officer Janes then arrested Harris; however, the offender resisted and disobeyed commands, making Officer Janes fight to take down Harris as shown on a bodycam video. Harris was reportedly put in a thigh hold on the ground after Officer Janes used a reverse palm technique to take him down. While Harris also grabbed the officer’s duty belt near his service pistol. And before backup arrived and hauled him into custody, Harris ended up with a face full of pepper spray and minor facial injuries.

Timothy Harris sued Officer Christopher Janes for punching and pepper-spraying him after he resisted arrest and fought the officer on the ground.

And after the incident, Harris filed a lawsuit claiming excessive force, and although Harris’ ex-girlfriend admitted that Harris tried to fight Officer Janes during the arrest, the ex-girlfriend ended up testifying on his behalf of him. Harris continued the case despite the city looking into the incident and finding no merit in his allegation.

Harris claimed in the lawsuit that Officer Janes had pepper sprayed him while he was on the ground, repeatedly hit him, and detained him without giving a reason. He also suffered a broken jaw, which required his jaw to be wired shut for two months and a permanent metal plate to be implanted in his face, in addition to the lawsuit. Harris sued the officer for $1 million in damages and the expense of his legal bills.

However, Officer Christopher Janes did not use excessive force during the arrest, according to the federal court’s decision following a protracted trial. As a result, Harris was left with nothing and owes the court and his defense team $197,120.55 in legal fees. And that’s not all; the judge slammed him with a special order when Harris believed losing his $1 million case couldn’t possibly get any worse. Harris owes a total of $234,808.60 after Officer Janes’ expenses, which were $37,688.05. As. U.S. District Judge Dan Crabtree issued an order requiring Harris to cover all of Officer Christopher Janes’ court costs and attorney fees.

The order said, “The court orders that plaintiff recovers nothing, the action is dismissed on the merits, and defendant Christopher Janes recover costs from plaintiff.”

The jurors were commended by Topeka City Attorney Amanda Stanley for comprehending “what the City has known all along,” After little over two hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously found Harris guilty.

“After a three-day trial, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of Officer Janes, finding that he did not use excessive force against the Plaintiff. No money was awarded to the Plaintiff. The City is pleased with the jury’s verdict. The Plaintiff has the opportunity to appeal, and as such, the City will not comment further on the matter,” Stanley said.

“Obviously we’re disappointed, but the jury in its wisdom didn’t agree with our side of what happened. That’s the judicial system and it did what it supposed to do,” Harris’ co-counsel Ben Stelter-Embry said, claiming that Harris has complained that he suffered excruciating pain in his jaw and the fact that he had to subsist for eight weeks on broth only. The damage, he added, still makes Harris drool and prevents him from eating correctly.

Many people believe that almost any force qualifies as excessive force as in numerous high-profile cases that the media has used to push a racial and political narrative.

Unfortunately, it’s better to acquiesce and leave with a hurt ego than to have your face slashed open and go bankrupt, as Harris learned. Although he could still appeal, he would have to decide if it would be worthwhile given the fact that both the city and the federal court had ruled against him.

Watch the video below for more details:

Sources: TapHaps, TheTopekaCapital-Journal, WIBW