I titled this article An Excessive Settlement for A Duputy’s Excessive Force.
As once said by thr character Smokey in the faously successful film Friday: ”Give me my mon-knee.” He looked excitedly anxious, to scoop up those dollars of that crap game. However, if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know that money Chris Tucker thought he’d won wasnt actually his earnings to gather.
But after reading an article, by Jayson Hawkins, more can be said pertaining to a payment, owed, to an ex-jailer named Terrell Isaiah Wilson.
According to an article in the January 2020 issue, of PLN, it was on an April night of the year 2016, that Terrell Wilson was booked into the Ramsey County Jail, on charges steeming from the theft of two celluar phones.
The Ramsey County jailhouse is located in a city of Minnesota, called St. Paul; a place where brutal beatings, is apparently apart of the facility’s booking procedure. Why else would Mr.Wilson have had to plea out, in pain, on that particular day of his detainment.
” Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me.”
That was what Terrell could clearly be heard screaming out as the footage of his ordeal unwinded.
The 13-mintue video(which wasnt made public until mid 2019) displayed the county’s Deputy- a, Travis VanDeWiele- began to push down, aganist a pressure point on Wilson’s jaw, which forced Terrell upward, while at the same moment, ordering him to sit down.
Also during his incident, it was reported that Terrell complained, and cursed about the deputies use of excessive force, which prompted a threatingly sinister reply from Mr. VanDeWiele.
” Oh, you ain’t seen excessive force, yet.” he reportedly warned.
The 13 mintue footage of Terrell Wilson’s assualt was sent to, and viewed by an expert on use-of-force a Mr.Tim Williams, who was once a supervisor in the Los Angeles Police Department.
” Mr.Wilson is trying to comply, but he cant when four or five different things are being done to him.” Tim Williams, reportedly stated, as he viewes the maddness surrounding Mr. Wilson.
One of the four or five different things which Mr.Williams made refrence to, woas the four punch combo, Terrell Wilson was served, straight to his gut by the officer sworn to protect us, from such a pumbling, as the one he was dishing out on camera.
The corrpution caught on that camera, was so disgusting, it was reported that Melvin Carter- the mayor of St.Paul- had to chime in and comment. ” If we saw video like that from anywhere else in the world,” he stated, ” we’d call it torture.”
A strong statement, that was; mainly because experts of physical violence have said that those punchs to his stomach, in the fashion they we’re given, are similar to a tactic technique, which induces the feeling of drowning- something prohibited, because of past fatalites. Maybe that was reason, for the outcome Terrell Wilson recieved, May of 2019, which was a rewarded settlement, whcih surpassed a half of million dollars.
” I watched the entire video and was absolutely appalled.” said Victoria Reinhardt, one of the Commisioners responsible for Mr. Wilson’s (justified) financial outcome.
” We do take this seriously,” she added, ” and need to do everyting that we can to correct this, to make sure something like (this) does not happen again.”
Unfortunately, VanDeWiele didnt leave the lawsuit feeling as ‘rich’ as Terrell. According to the investigative report conducted by PLN, the county of St.Paul, accepted VanDeWiele’s resignation in exchange for dropping his misdemeanor assualt charges. But those charges, werent his only. According to legal documents, VanDeWiele also was smacked with a charge of disorderly conduct, which also stemmed from the incident with Wilson. He lead guilty to that misdemenor and was instructed by the Court to pay a fine of 150$.
Also apart of his agreement, VanDeWiele recieved no administative discipline for his actions, taken place on the 13th day of April, 2016. And for most, the knowledge of the 120,000$ he collected, during his two years of leave, was salt on the open wound.
As The Minority Reports concludes this report, we assume that Mr.Wlson’s guilty plea (for Theft) revolving those stolen cellphones, didnt hinder his level of comfort, as a citizen of society; thats considering the $525,000 he won, for his wounds at the hands of VanDeWiele.
I’m not sure the same can be said about his attacker, who probaly (now) can’t find any work which reside in the realms of law enforcement.
In closing, if any of you readers know of anyone whom are currently battling litigation, for some excessive force, we do highly recommend that you equip them with this report.
More if this story can be found on the web, at kstop.com, fox9.com, and, twincities.com
The purpose of this article was for it to be implimented, in my new magazine- The Minority Reports.
Read it. Comment…(especially) if you enjoyed it.( But) especially if your interested in becoming my co-founder, or, who knows…maybe even the ”Editor-In-Chief” of The MR.
I can be contacted through Jpay.com. Simply search: Tony Lewis 98308 ( Kansas Department of Corrections)
Tony Lewis
DOC #98308
