VANCOUVER — On Sept. 17, attorneys Mark Lindquist and Angus Lee filed a $27 million claim against Clark County on behalf of the family of Marc Fogle. In the claim, the attorneys allege Fogle was stabbed in the back 17 times by a deputy armed with his own personal dagger. This was subsequently confirmed in an autopsy.
Lindquist and Lee argued the killing was unjustified, specifically alleging wrongful death, excessive force, negligence, constitutionally deficient training and supervision, and other failures of the Sheriff's Department, including "systemic misuse" of body worn cameras.
Today (Oct. 5), the Clark County Prosecutor's Office announced the office would not be filing criminal charges. The Sheriff's Department issued their own news release.
In response, attorney Lindquist noted, "Prosecutors reviewing cases for criminal charges use an entirely different standard than the standards applied to a civil case. For example, criminal cases apply a "proof beyond a reasonable doubt” standard. Civil cases only apply a 'more likely than not' standard. Criminal cases require criminal intent. Civil cases only require a showing of negligence."
As a result, Lindquist said, "The finding of a prosecutor on criminal charges has no bearing on a civil lawsuit. We remain confident there were numerous mistakes made in the Fogle case that support our allegations of negligence and excessive force, among other claims."
Attorney Lee added, "the most important evidence in this case is what happened during the approximately one minute when Deputy Layton’s body camera stopped recording. That is when he stabbed Marc seventeen times in the back."
Further, Lee said, "At the same time, there remains an open investigation concerning officers muting body-camera microphones during the aftermath of this killing. We asked the Prosecutor’s Office today whether that investigation had even been completed, and the answer was, ‘I don’t know.’ A charging decision should not be made before an investigation into hidden body-camera evidence from the same case is complete.”
Additionally, Lee had the following criticism of the prosecutor's decision, "The TASER evidence is ignored. Layton could have used his Taser, but didn't. The seventeen stabs is essentially ignored. Each stabbing was a separate application of deadly force, and deadly force is justified only while the threat requiring it continues. Finally, the Level III retention holster securing Layton’s firearm was ignored. The Prosecutor’s Office treats Marc’s contact with the firearm as though it meant Layton was on the verge of losing control of it. But Layton’s gun was secured in a Level III retention holster, a system specifically designed to make unauthorized removal exceedingly difficult. The prosecutor’s analysis skips over that, among other problems in their review."
Lindquist and Lee have previously sued Clark County three times in cases alleging wrongful death and excessive force, resulting in awards of $7.5 million, $3.5 million, and $1.25 million.
Mark Lindquist, a former elected prosecutor for Pierce County, Washington, is an aviation and injury attorney. His cases include the two crashes of the Boeing 737 Max 8, the recent door plug blowout on a Max 9, wrongful death allegations against governments, and other cases involving death or serious injuries.
Angus Lee is a former elected prosecutor for Grant County, WA. He handles criminal defense and civil rights cases in Southwest Washington and Oregon. Lee is a long-time advocate for body cameras and launched the first state-wide voter initiative for body cameras.
Comments
Loading comments…