Lawsuit filed in Mill Creek police pursuit that injured 13-year-old

The parents of a 13-year-old Mill Creek boy have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging a police SUV intercepted the boy on a minibike and cut in front of him, causing an unavoidable collision that injured the child.

The lawsuit, filed June 2, alleges Mill Creek police retroactively changed the nature of the call from a misdemeanor nuisance" to felony eluding, despite three eyewitnesses who observed the officer's actions and complained.

According to the complaint and witnesses, the officer handcuffed the crying and bleeding child on the street and jerked him to his feet by twisting his arm, telling him to "quit being a (expletive)."

It claims that the boy, identified as "J.F.", was targeted due to his race. J.F. is "half-black," while his white companion, who was also on a minibike, was stopped without incident by another officer.

The lawsuit alleges excessive use of force, assault, battery, negligence and false arrest and accuses the Mill Creek Police Department of improper training.

A telephone message left with Mill Creek police Chief Stan White, who is a defendant in the lawsuit, was not returned Monday. Spokesperson Jody Hawkins said the city doesn't comment on pending litigation.

J.F. and his friend reportedly were driving their gas-powered minibikes, both wearing helmets, at speeds of up to 30 mph around the Mill Creek Town Center. Someone called police, and the incident was delivered on police computer-assisted dispatch terminals as a "nuisance" and officers were sent to the scene, according to the complaint.

Over the next several minutes, officers spotted the youths and "shadowed" them. The officers reported the boys were "revving their engines" and going onto sidewalks.

However, a senior supervisor instructed the officers, "Obviously don't pursue," because the kids were not suspected of any serious crimes, were not armed and were not endangering the public. The officers were told not to activate their emergency equipment.

Despite these instructions, the complaint alleges Officer Joseph Odom "drove his marked patrol SUV in pursuit of J.F."

A witness walking his dog said J.F was driving about 30 mph and that Odom's SUV overtook him from behind "then steered his Patrol SUV sharply left across the crosswalk and into J.F.'s path of travel, leaving J.F no room to maneuver."

The boy's minibike collided with the driver's side front fender, throwing him from the cycle and into the street.

The witness "described Odom as acting as if he was 'going to stop this boy at any cost.'"

The complaint said the boy suffered a laceration to his leg, a sprain and "abrasions and contusions."

The lawsuit said Odom radioed to dispatch, "One of them just struck my patrol vehicle."

However, three eyewitnesses identified in the lawsuit "observed that the collision was caused by Odom's patrol car cutting across J.F.'s path, not by J.F. striking the patrol vehicle."

After the collision, the lawsuit alleges that Odom provided no medical care but instead handcuffed the child and jerked him to his feet by "pulling and twisting his arms, knee in the back," according to a witness. She said when she complained to Odom, he threatened to arrest her.

He also called for backup officers to handle "unruly subjects," including three witnesses, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said J.F. was released to his mother at the scene and no criminal charges were filed.

Odom returned to the station that afternoon. Later, according to the lawsuit, the classification of the incident was changed from "nuisance" to "eluding," which is a felony and could justify a pursuit.

"On information and belief, the post hoc upgrade from 'nuisance,' to 'elude' was performed to retroactively justify Odom's otherwise unauthorized pursuit and use of force, the lawsuit alleges.

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