Asheville Sgt. Lisa Taube to sue city over police beating statements, attorney says

ASHEVILLE - The supervising officer who responded to the police beating of a black pedestrian will sue the city for libel and slander, her attorney said.

Sgt. Lisa Taube was disciplined for what top city officials said were failures as the supervising officer in the Aug. 24 arrest, which became national news, and in which excessive force was ruled to have been used by former officer Chris Hickman against pedestrian Johnnie Rush.

But Taube's attorney, John Hunter, is now saying the sergeant did nothing wrong in how she handled the beating aftermath. Public statements about her by Police Chief Tammy Hooper and ex-city manager Gary Jackson amounted to libel and slander, Hunter said.

He said the statements were an attempt to shift blame and retaliate for her involvement in grievances filed against the chief.

"The false statements were malicious and intentional and/or made with reckless disregard for the truth," Hunter said in an April 16 letter to Mayor Esther Manheimer. Hunter copied Hooper and Jackson against whom Taube would also take action, the attorney said.

More: Asheville police officer in beating video arrested on assault, other charges

A civil action would not be filed if the city agreed to issue a retraction, he said.

But in an April 23 response, City Attorney Robin Currin said the city would not change its stance.

“We have reviewed the allegations in your letter, as well as the city’s files related to this matter and do not believe that Sgt. Taube has a viable claim for defamation against the city, Chief Tammy Hooper or Gary Jackson,” Currin said.

Jackson could not be reached for comment. Hooper declined to comment aside from referring to Currin’s letter.

The public knew little or nothing about the beating for six months until a Feb. 28 Citizen Times story that included leaked body camera footage of the incident.

Body camera footage shows interaction with Hickman, Rush, others

In an interview the day the footage came out, Rush said Taube accused him of lying and yelled at him while he was still bleeding and unsteady from repeated blows to the head.

Taube didn’t return a call from the Citizen Times prior to publication of that story.

Under the Asheville Police Department’s use-of-force policy, supervisors are to respond to the scene of incidents involving officer force. They should try to take a statement from the person on whom force was used and take pictures of “areas of contact” to “document injuries or lack of injuries.

Use-of-force reports fall under state personnel records protections and are not a public record, according to APD officials.

Taube’s and other officers’ body cam footage of the arrest was released to the public on April 2 on a court order after a petition by the City Council. In it, Taube can be seen interacting with Hickman, Rush and others.”

More: FBI has opened official investigation into Asheville police beating

In her video, Hickman tells Taube: "I went on his (expletive) head. I beat the (expletive) out of his head. Not going to lie about that."

She asks if Rush had requested medical attention and whether the Taser was effective on him, both of which were answered, "No."

"I hit him in the face with it," Hickman said. "I hit him in the face as if it was a club three times and that was effective. That's what happened to the left side of his face.

More: Ex-officer appears in court after arrest in police beating incident

"I hit him about as hard as I could."

Taube can’t be heard calling Rush a liar. She can be heard raising her voice and pushing back against Rush’s recounting of events. Rush at one point says he wants to press charges against Hickman.

But Taube tells him he was “in the wrong” for running from police after being stopped on suspicion of jaywalking and trespassing.

Taube disciplined after incident

Taube later received disciplinary action for poor performance, and was ordered to undergo remedial training in connection with the incident, according to statements by Jackson and Hooper.

In a memo dated March 5, Jackson said “despite being told by Hickman that he struck Mr. Rush in the head with his Taser, and despite Mr. Rush saying that he was choked, did not immediately forward any information or complete notes of those interviews with Hickman and Rush, and did not review the body camera footage that evening.”

Hooper’s statements came during an interview with WLOS in which she said Taube’s actions were “not acceptable” and that she “dropped the ball.”

More: Revisiting the Asheville police beating: Should Johnnie Rush have run?

Hunter, though, said Taube arranged for photos to be taken and attempted to take a statement.

“That was her effort to question him as to what occurred,” the attorney said. “I do not know what training they receive as to how you take a statement at the scene.”

Taube wasn’t able to follow-up on the use-of-force report because the next day a complaint was issued and an administrative investigation started into the arrest.

Asheville Police Department's new use-of-force policy

Hunter said it wasn’t uncommon for people arrested in and around downtown to say that they had been the subject of excessive force by police, “and some of that dynamic” was probably in play that night, the attorney said.

APD found one incident that involved excessive force by police in 2017. It was the one involving Rush.

Along with the new use-of-force policy, which was implemented in May, officers are subject to police rules of conduct. Those require officers report violations of law to their immediate supervisors. It also requires officers to be courteous to members of the public.

Hunter said that because the disciplinary action didn’t amount to a demotion, she didn’t have the right to appeal to the Civil Service Board.

Taube also didn’t feel a need to bring a civil action until her name became public and it began to affect her professional and personal life, the attorney said. For example, a nonprofit organization at which she volunteered asked her to stop her work with them, he said.

He said the actions against her were actually retaliation for serving as a witness in grievances issued against the chief by members of “the department’s current senior command staff.”

Hunter did not give details about those grievances. APD staff said any such complaints would not be public record because they fall under personnel protections.