When former Topeka police officer Jeremy Carlisle-Simons made the unlawful arrest in September 2014 that would lead to his departure from the force, he threw an uncooperative subject to the ground, screamed obscenities and pounded his fist into the man’s back.

The city of Topeka would pay $50,000 for his actions, contributing to more than $400,000 in total settlements and claims related to police activity since 2010.

As the threat of a civil lawsuit influences the city’s response to the fatal police shooting in September of Dominique White, a Kansas Open Records Act request by The Topeka Capital-Journal revealed dozens of payments ranging from $300,000 for a notorious shooting involving off-duty Topeka police officers to $16 for a driver’s license taken by an officer and never returned. The police department also agreed to provide a video of the Carlisle-Simons arrest, which hasn’t been seen publicly until now.

The video shows officers responding to a 911 hangup in the 1200 block of S.W. Washburn, where they confront Arthur Morris and Jeanie Becerra in their backyard. Carlisle-Simons tells a verbally combative Morris that police received a call from neighbors about a disturbance, which wasn’t true.

As shouting intensifies between Morris and Carlisle-Simons, the officer takes Morris to the ground and attempts to handcuff him. Face down with one hand cuffed, Morris resists attempts to cuff the other.

“Give me your goddamn arm, (expletive),” Carlisle-Simons says before repeatedly punching the man’s back.

Morris was arrested and convicted of disobeying a police order, disturbing the peace, assault on a law enforcement officer and interfering with law enforcement. Becerra was arrested in connection with disobeying a police officer and interference with law enforcement.

Their convictions were vacated after body camera video showed the police account wasn’t accurate.

Six months after the incident, Morris and Becerra filed a claim with the city, alleging they were assaulted, officers lacked probable cause to make the arrests and officers lied during court testimony. The Topeka City Council approved the payment.

Across all departments, the city since 2010 has paid more than $1 million in settlements and tort and medical claims. Additionally, the city has spent about $1 million to retain outside counsel to litigate cases. Hundreds of claims were rejected, and some from this year are pending.

Records show the city has paid $332,244 for two settlements and $76,078 for 44 claims involving police.

On Friday, the city showed video of police shooting White to his father, who has been named administrator of White’s estate in court documents that also indicate he has authority to pursue evidence for a possible wrongful death case. Gillian Cassell-Stiga, the attorney for White’s family, said she asked the city to maintain all documents related to White’s death.

“It’s pretty standard in any potential case to send a notice to preserve evidence,” Cassell-Stiga said in an email.

‘Unacceptable behavior’

The Capital-Journal filed open records requests in 2015 and 2016 to view body camera video of Carlisle-Simons, but those requests were denied.

At those times, Topeka Police Department legal adviser Luther Ganieany said releasing video could interfere with an investigation under review by the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office. In response to renewed efforts by The Capital-Journal to view the video following the White shooting, District Attorney Mike Kagay, who took office in January, confirmed his predecessor declined to file charges against Carlisle-Simons, who resigned while under investigation.

“I think that one of the things that needs to be kept in mind here (is) all the people involved in this process are no longer,” said interim TPD chief Bill Cochran. “Chad Taylor was the D.A. Chad Sublet was the city attorney. (James) Brown was the chief. The officer that was in question has resigned from the agency. I think those are important things to keep in mind.”

Cochran was named interim chief in early November.

“Unacceptable behavior is not tolerated going forward, and that’s I think our main stance that we want to make known to the public and everybody,” he said. “With the change in administration and going forward, that the expectations of professionalism and operating within guidelines of their duties as a police officer should be done correctly. And that if an individual acts outside of those grounds, that they’ll be dealt with with the appropriate action.”

Topeka police officials say probable cause to arrest Morris and Becerra was questionable, which means applying the use of force also comes into question. Had there been legal grounds to arrest Morris, the officer’s use of force wouldn’t be considered excessive, Cochran said.

“If they’re resisting — which he was resisting, actively resisting by not complying with being handcuffed when he knew that he was being handcuffed — actively resisting like that, those type of strikes are used to gain compliance,” Cochran said.

Morris and Becerra’s claim was one of 844 filed between Jan. 1, 2010, and Nov. 6, 2017. Of those, the city has paid in 179 cases, and 21 remain open.

The $50,000 payment to Morris and Becerra was the highest total paid for any of the claims, which are filed with the city clerk’s office. The smallest amount: $4.10 for money fed to a failing parking meter.





Potholes and more

The water department is responsible for more claims than any other department, with more than 50 totaling about $88,000.

Much of that money covers incidents where city crews damaged power and water lines. Some claims were filed by individuals, while others were from companies that include Westar Energy, Kansas Gas Service and AT&T.

Small claims related to TPD include “police officer fell through attic putting a hole in the ceiling,” “wrists were hurt while in handcuffs,” “TPD mistakenly broke into her storage unit looking for drugs,” and “police officer drove off with claimant’s wallet on top of police vehicle.”

TPD also has paid more than $250,000 in medical claims since December 2015. Kansas law requires agencies to pay the Medicaid rate for medical care when a person who doesn’t have health insurance coverage is in police custody.

The responsibility is triggered when a person needs medical treatment for any reason, Ganieany said.

“Many of these claims involve treatment for medical issues wholly unrelated to law enforcement activities,” he said. “Because the reason for the treatment is not a factor in this decision, it is not tracked as part of our record keeping.”

Additionally, medical claims can be denied if a person wasn’t under arrest at the time they sought medical attention or police contacted them at the hospital. Another common reason for denial is confusion about which agency has custody of the patient.

The police department has a line item in its budget for medical services, Ganieany said.

Other city departments that have paid claims include code compliance, forestry and parks and recreation. The streets department has paid 38 claims totaling about $26,000. Of those, 16 were for pothole damage to vehicles.

There are numerous factors that go into assessing the validity of a claim, said Shelly Starr, chief of litigation for Topeka, but when it comes to potholes, if a complaint with a pothole’s location has been made before a claim for damage comes in, the claim is usually paid.

“We have to have some sort of evidence to substantiate it, and it has to be reasonable,” Starr said.

The legal department also analyzes claims in order to improve city services.

“We look at claims to see if, like, are we getting a lot of claims from water department or potholes?” Starr said. “And they do seem to kind of be cyclical. And so what we look at is whether we need to do some training with regard to the departments and what they should be doing.”

Money for claims comes from the special liability expense fund, which is part of the city’s annual operating budget.

Settlements

Shortly before 3 a.m. March 18, 2008, Jason Judd shot two brothers during an altercation that involved alcohol and three other off-duty Topeka police officers.

Criminal charges against Judd — who has since been promoted to detective — were dismissed in July 2009. In a civil settlement two years later, brothers Daniel and Devin Llamas were awarded $300,000 for the St. Patrick’s Day incident.

In settling a case, neither side typically admits liability. However, Pedro Irigonegaray, an attorney for the Llamas brothers, said payment by the city was indicative that “something inappropriate had occurred.”

Documents show the payment was the largest the city has made to settle litigation since 2010. In total, the city during that time has paid $658,530 in settlements, which are cases filed in district or federal court or with other regulatory bodies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.





Irigonegaray said settlements in civil cases are a process in which one side walks away thinking the amount was too much and the other side thinks it didn’t receive enough.

“It’s all a matter of perspective,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think $300,000 was enough.

Starr said she thought a court would have found in favor of the city, but the cost of litigating the Llamas case was going to be substantial. She also said it isn’t good practice to settle lawsuits.

“In all fairness, litigation is expensive,” Starr said. “So if the facts are questionable, or if you can settle a matter for a reasonable amount of money, whereas the litigation will be very expensive, it may make more sense if liability is questionable to go ahead and settle.”

The city also paid for lawyer Tom Lemon to represent Judd. Starr said when a conflict of interest arises, the city retains outside counsel.

Since 2010, Topeka has spent about $1 million for outside counsel.

Judd’s employment continued with the department following the criminal and civil cases, as well as an administrative investigation.

Lt. Colleen Stuart, TPD spokeswoman, didn’t respond to requests asking when Judd was promoted to detective. City spokeswoman Molly Hadfield said promotion determinations involve “a promotion board with internal and external sworn law enforcement members, an annual promotion exam with oral and written components, experience, seniority and other factors.”

Irigonegaray said such a decision was best addressed by TPD, but that his “hope is (Judd is) a better officer today than he was back then.”

Important cases

Another settlement involving police was a $32,244 agreement the city council approved for Shawnee County resident Justin Tomson, who alleged TPD officers violated his rights by recording conversations between him and his attorneys without their consent.

After a settlement was reached in 2014, Tomson’s federal lawsuit was dismissed with a stipulation that “no party is deemed a prevailing party.”

Even without an admission of wrongdoing, those who seek compensation provide a check and balance on the government’s conduct, “which I think is healthy for the city and the citizens,” Irigonegaray said.

In 2013, Jo Monica Forrest, who started working for the city of Topeka in 1976, filed a lawsuit alleging she was terminated on the basis of her race, sex and age. The case was dismissed after the parties reached a settlement in which Forrest was awarded $55,000.

Forrest said there “is still a sore spot in my heart” for being terminated and fighting a legal battle. She also said she doesn’t think her case changed the way the city operates.

“These are important cases,” Irigonegaray said. “It is a true statement that a city, through its agents, at times commits acts that are offensive, and it is important for citizens to be able to hold the city responsible.”

Contact reporter Katie Moore at (785) 295-5612 or @katie_reports on Twitter.