Two Tasers too many for Tukwila suspect, judge says

With Tukwila police officers in front of and behind him — and both telling him to turn around — Terrance Releford likely didn't know what to do.

The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Releford hesitated and the officers fired Tasers simultaneously, knocking him to the ground with a combined 100,000 volts, according to court records and police reports.

Releford was ordered to roll onto his stomach and place his hands behind his back so he could be handcuffed. He rolled over, but when he didn't raise his arms quickly enough, both officers simultaneously fired their Tasers again, according to reports.

A police internal investigation later cleared both officers of claims they had used excessive force.

On Thursday, a federal magistrate judge ruled that Officers Josh Vivet and Mike Richardson used excessive force during their June 2006 arrest of Releford, violating his civil rights. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler also recommended that Releford be provided an attorney to pursue damages against the department.

"The court has little difficulty in concluding that, in light of all the circumstance, the amount of force used ... outweighed the need to use that force," wrote Theiler.

Tukwila police declined to comment on the ruling and how it conflicts with the department's internal investigation. The city's attorney was not immediately available for comment.

Releford is living in a Seattle halfway house and could not be reached.

Theiler's recommendation now goes to U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez, who is presiding over the case. Martinez is not obligated to adopt the magistrate's report, but if he does it has the same effect as a verdict or judgment.

Releford, 40, has represented himself in the lawsuit so far. There is no legal guarantee of court-appointed counsel in civil cases, although a judge can order one appointed in civil-rights cases. Theiler is recommending that Releford be given a lawyer now to help him prepare for a trial to decide damages.

Releford has a long history of arrests in Tukwila, and at the time he was confronted by officers Vivet and Richardson outside a Tukwila 7-Eleven the morning of June 5, 2006, he had just gotten out of jail for theft and possession of stolen property.

While he was in jail, a Tukwila municipal judge issued additional warrants for his arrest for other, unrelated crimes. Theiler, the magistrate judge, wrote that the officers had every right to stop and arrest him because of the outstanding warrants.

According to court pleadings, Vivet had had numerous previous run-ins with Releford and the officer said he had been hostile and uncooperative.

But Theiler said the officers offered no evidence that Releford was contrary or violent when Vivet, Richardson and another officer confronted him as he walked from the store into a nearby apartment parking lot.

"The only objective evidence that plaintiff was dangerous was his size," Theiler wrote, pointing out that the size of the officers is never mentioned in the pleadings, while Releford's gets repeated references.

While Releford may have presented an "imposing figure," the judge noted that, "in any case, the officers at the scene ... outnumbered plaintiff three to one."

The judge points to inconsistencies in their stories: Both officers, in sworn declarations in the lawsuit, said Releford was with two other individuals and that was one reason backup was called. Theiler pointed out that neither officer mentioned the other individuals in their earlier arrest reports nor were they mentioned in the internal-affairs investigation.

Vivet ordered Releford to turn around and put his hands behind his back, according to court documents. Releford responded, according to others at the scene, by putting his hands in the air and asking what he'd done. Meantime, Richardson stood behind him and "issued similar commands," according to the judge's ruling.

"It may have been physically impossible for plaintiff to satisfy both officers' commands simultaneously, due to his position between the two officers," Theiler wrote. A few seconds later, both officers fired their Tasers. Theiler noted that the Taser darts struck Releford front and back.

There was no evidence that Releford was resisting. "Indeed, his behavior suggests at least a partial willingness to comply," the judge wrote.

Even then, she said, a single application of a Taser and "the question would be much closer."

"However, weighed against the minimal need for force, the simultaneous double-tasing of plaintiff was clearly excessive."

Once Releford was on the ground on his stomach, the need for force "diminished even more and hence, the second double-tasing was also clearly excessive," the judge wrote.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com