Newton police respond to lawsuit alleging excessive force

Newton Police Chief Eric Murphy on Thursday defended a sergeant’s actions in the wake of a lawsuit that alleges the sergeant broke a man’s collarbone during a 2014 traffic stop.

The lawsuit alleges that the man, Bret Easley of Oklahoma, then suffered from a severe fracture for two weeks in the Sedgwick County Jail without getting the medical attention he needed.

A statement on the city of Newton’s website, however, says the account described in the lawsuit does “not accurately reflect the facts.”

According to the statement, Newton police officers were chasing Easley, who they say was driving a stolen truck, on I-135 at estimated speeds of up to 110 mph on Jan. 17, 2014. After using a spike strip to flatten three of the truck’s four tires, officers moved in to arrest Easley, according to the statement.

Easley “did not voluntarily exit the vehicle despite repeated requests to do so, and he continued to resist and assault officers after he was removed from the vehicle,” the statement said.

The lawsuit alleges that Easley stopped on his own accord and had his hands up and out of his car window as the officers approached. He was cooperating and submitting, according to the account described in the lawsuit.

Officers can be heard on audio saying that “something popped” when they arrested Easley and saying they thought his collarbone was broken, the lawsuit says.

Easley was taken to Newton Medical Center and released, wearing a sling, to Park City officers when doctors determined his condition had stabilized, according to the Newton statement.

According to the lawsuit, a doctor said Easley needed to see an orthopedic surgeon.

The statement does not comment on the alleged lack of treatment at the Sedgwick County Jail, as “officers were not involved in the matter beyond that transfer of custody.”

Murphy said the Newton Police Department has not been served with the lawsuit yet, though the Newton City Attorney’s Office obtained a copy of it after learning about its filing through the media.

The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000, the standard minimum amount early in a lawsuit, and it names as defendants the city of Newton; Sedgwick County commissioners; Newton police Sgt. Jason Thompson; Newton police Officers Michael Stinger, Levi Minkevitch and Jordan Garver; Newton Patrolman Brian Rousseau; Newton Assistant Police Chief William Koonce; Harvey County sheriff’s Deputies Carmen Clark and Paul Jones; Park City police Sgt. Trent Johnson; unknown Sedgwick County Jail deputies; and Conmed, the jail medical contractor.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Newton police respond to lawsuit alleging excessive force."