LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council on Wednesday met in executive session to be briefed by the county’s legal counsel on a civil suit brought against the administration by mixed martial arts fighter Lebeau Lagmay, who got shot with a
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council on Wednesday met in executive session to be briefed by the county’s legal counsel on a civil suit brought against the administration by mixed martial arts fighter Lebeau Lagmay, who got shot with a stun gun in 2009 by police in the parking lot of the emergency room of Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihu‘e.
Deputy County Attorney Marc Guyot told the council on Wednesday that they would be briefed by Deputy County Attorney Justin Kollar in Executive Session 568.
The closed-door session was to “provide council with a briefing and request for authority to settle claim against the county by Lebeau Lagmay, filed Nov. 17, 2011, … as Lebeau Lagmay vs. Eric Caspillo, individually and in his capacity as police officer for the County of Kaua‘i, Kaua‘i Police Department, et al., and related matters,” according to the council’s agenda.
Lagmay was arrested Nov. 20, 2009, in the hospital’s parking lot. He claimed he put his hands in the air, yet was shot three times with an electronic stun gun by Caspillo. Each of the shots delivered 50,000 volts for five seconds.
The incident was apparently caught on the hospital’s surveillance camera. The Garden Island reported on Feb. 14, 2010, that its requests to view the video of the incident had been denied — queries were made to KPD and state Deputy Public Defender Edmund Acoba, who represented Lagmay in his criminal case.
In August 2010, Lagmay was sentenced to one year in prison on terroristic-threatening and drunken driving charges.
On Dec. 7, 2011, the council approved a $40,000 request to retain special counsel to defend the county against Lagmay’s lawsuit.
In January 2012, Lagmay’s case against the county was moved to U.S. Federal Court on O‘ahu.
The civil lawsuit accuses the police of assault and battery, physical and emotional harm, humiliation and cruelty with an electronic stun gun, The Garden Island reported in January.
The lawsuit also alleges that one of the arresting officers was in a relationship with someone who used to be involved with Lagmay.
