HONOLULU — A stipulation agreement filed Friday in U.S. Federal Court resulted in the dismissal of a civil suit against the County of Kaua‘i and three police officers for a 2009 arrest in which a Taser was used to subdue LeBeau Lagmay.
The stipulation dismisses all claims, with prejudice, against the defendants — the County of Kaua‘i, the Kaua‘i Police Department and officers Eric Caspillo, Paddy Ramson and Marnie Fernandez, individually and in their capacity as police officers and for any further responsibility.
The ruling also orders all parties to bear their own legal fees and costs.
Lead defense counsel Myles S. Breiner said Sunday via email that under the circumstances, legal counsel is precluded from discussing the terms of any settlement. Lagmay is also represented by attorney Daniel Hempey.
The County Attorney’s Office represented the defendants, with Justin Kollar representing Caspillo; Jennifer Winn representing Ramson; Mauna Kea Kaukaohu Higuera-Trask representing Fernandez; Richard Nakamura representing the county and police department.
The stipulation was signed Friday. The case had been set for jury trial on Feb. 12, 2013, before the Senior U.S. District Judge Alan C. Kay.
The case was filed in 5th Circuit Court in November 2011, and has was petitioned to U.S. Federal Court the following month under jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Act.
Lagmay, 27, of Kapa‘a, was suing over the actions of the officers following a Lihu‘e traffic stop on Nov. 20, 2009. The complaint states that police shocked Lagmay with an electronic stun gun three times after he exited his vehicle in the Wilcox Memorial Hospital Emergency Room parking lot with his hands in the air.
The complaint notes the officers report that Lagmay was resisting arrest. He was taken into the Wilcox Emergency Room and treated for his injuries before he was arrest.
There was one other passenger in Lagmay’s vehicle, and the incident was monitored by a hospital surveillance camera, according to the civil complaint.
Lagmay was sentenced to a year in jail on June 1, 2010. He pleading guilty to three counts of misdemeanor terroristic threatening, resisting an order to stop his vehicle and driving under the influence.
The civil lawsuit was filed after the conviction and accused the officers of assault and battery, physical and emotional harm, humiliation and cruelty with a Taser gun. The county and KPD were named co-defendants for negligence on the part of the officers’ actions and training.
• Tom LaVenture can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by emailing tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
