Green Bay police arrests prompt legal claims, allegation of race discrimination

GREEN BAY - Three citizens involved in controversial 2017 arrests by Green Bay police have begun legal action, including a case in which a woman claims officers violated her civil rights.

The claims could end up costing the city thousands of dollars.

Two of the claims are from people who police took out of a car at gunpoint and handcuffed during a 3 a.m. stop at an Admiral Court apartment complex last Feb 26. One person was charged with minor offenses that were later dropped. No one else in the car was charged.

LaRonda Schaeffer, now 47, was a resident of the complex at the time. She was one of four people ordered out of a car and onto the ground at gunpoint after a police officer reported that he suspected "drug activity" there. Her lawyer, Robert Levine of Milwaukee, said he believes the officer violated Schaeffer's civil rights when he used his suspicions as an excuse to stop and question persons of color. Schaeffer is black.

"When you're in your own driveway, do you expect to be handcuffed and taken to jail? That's what happened here," said Levine, who said officers violated Schaeffer's rights by using excessive force. "If it had been somebody white parked in that driveway, you know damn well nobody’s going to bother them."

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Police found no drugs during a search of the Cadillac SUV in which Schaeffer had been riding.

Police Chief Andrew Smith said he couldn't speak specifically to Schaeffer's claims, but insists his department is not racist.

"I don’t believe there’s any general bias or racism in the Green Bay Police Department," Smith said. "And when we find any evidence that an individual is exhibiting bias, we immediately do what we need to do to root it out."

In a separate claim, Carl McDuffie Jr., then 32 and living in Green Bay, claims he suffered physical and emotional injuries when he was Tasered and tackled by police during the Admiral Court incident. His lawyer said McDuffie suffered intense pain in the arrest, cannot work and is so afraid to return to Green Bay that he has been living in another state.

"The pain was likened by my client (to) being killed," wrote lawyer Walter Stern III of Kenosha. "He thought he was dying or dead." Police have acknowledged using Tasers on McDuffie three times during his arrest; Stern said it may have been as many as six.

Prosecutors initially charged McDuffie with misdemeanor resisting or obstructing an officer. They later dropped the charge.

The Admiral Court incident led to the resignation several weeks later of Michael Rahn, the officer who initiated the stop and later falsified a report about it. Two patrol officers and a lieutenant who were also involved were each suspended five days without pay.

Neither Schaeffer's claim nor McDuffie's seeks a specific dollar amount. Lawyers for both say they are awaiting results from medical evaluations of their clients before deciding how much to ask for.

Excessive force claim

A third person, Cassandra Beaster of Wrightstown, has filed claims against both the city and Brown County in connection to her arrest in November outside a downtown bar.

RELATED: Woman claims Green Bay police officer roughed her up

Beaster is demanding $50,000 from the city for injuries she said she suffered during her arrest. Her claim alleges she was "brutalized" by a Green Bay patrolman, who she says slammed her head into the ground.

Her lawyer says two or three bones around her eye were broken, she suffered an ear injury and may have been concussed when Green Bay Officer Alex Carson arrested her outside a South Washington Street tavern about 2:15 a.m. Nov. 5.

Attorney Andrew Williams of Green Bay acknowledges Beaster was drunk — police say her blood-alcohol level was three times the legal level for intoxication — but she didn't deserve the treatment she received.

"All kinds of people are drunk, but police don't tackle them to the ground," he said.

He also claims police "put Ms. Beaster's life at risk" by not getting her to a hospital, although he acknowledges that a paramedic examined Beaster before she was taken to jail.

In December, Smith said Carson acted appropriately toward a person who was belligerent and aggressive with the officer.

Beaster's lawyer has also filed a $50,000 claim against Brown County, alleging that jail staff failed to provide access to medical care despite what he wrote were "visible wounds" and signs of a concussion. Her jail-booking photos show discoloration and apparent swelling around her right eye.

Jail officials on Wednesday couldn't say whether Beaster had asked for medical attention at the facility.

Sheriff John Gossage, though, said the jail "would never deny medical attention to someone who needed it."

Chief Deputy Todd Delain said jail workers "err on the side of caution" when there are indications someone in the facility is injured.

A video that Beaster shared to Facebook, but later deleted, showed her and an officer in a confrontation captured by a tavern's security camera, but the pair moved out of the frame before Beaster ended up on the ground.

Beaster awaits trial in Green Bay City Court on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. She is free on bond.

Green Bay officials denied Beaster's claim in January.

Joanne Bungert, an attorney for the city said they have yet to act on the other claims because they don't include dollar amounts; once that happens, the city has 120 days to approve or deny each claim. Claims that are denied can be pursued in court through a civil lawsuit.

Jonathan Anderson contributed to this report.