Let me start by saying this: we always talk down about athletes who run afoul of the law ... especially here in Cincinnati. It is a running joke in this town and, for the most part, it is deserved.However, it is with great pleasure that I post about former Bengal Matthias Askew winning $500,000 from the City of Cincinnati for wrongful arrest and excessive force.
If you remember, police approached Askew because his car was parked illegally. He co-operated with police ... who then hit him with a stun gun after they believed he was trying to flee the scene. The Bengals cut Askew three weeks later.
Askew was aquitted of the charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He then sued to city for $50 million, claiming wrongful arrest and use of excessive force ... and the fact that the arrest led to him losing his NFL job and contract extension.
Here is the city's take on this:
"Although the law department was prepared to aggressively defend the city against Mr. Askew's allegations, it was anticipated that the civil suit would have been tried to a jury," interim City Solicitor Patricia King wrote in a Wednesday memo to city officials. "...A jury finding in favor of Mr. Askew could have resulted in damages against the city of several million dollars."
Askew is now on the Washington Redskins training camp roster.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-09-2008 @ 1:23PM
Matt said...
"However, it is with great pleasure that I post about former Bengal Matthias Askew winning $500,000 from the City of Cincinnati for wrongful arrest and excessive force."
Hooray to unjustified police brutality!
Nice choice of words.
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8-09-2008 @ 4:14PM
46and2 said...
Great story. Theres alot of football fans who like to climb up on their high horse and automatically assume someone is a bum because they get arrested. alot of the charges get dropped, but noone ever talks about that. and sometimes, like in this guy, someone gets outright screwed by the cops. I am all about law and order and holding yourself to a higher standard as a professional athlete, but you ARE innocent until proven guilty in this country.
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8-10-2008 @ 9:08AM
Grer The Sarcastic Bastard said...
Curious S.A. - How big (or not so big) did the local papers cover this story, and did the Bengals have any comment?
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8-10-2008 @ 3:55PM
Sportz Assassin said...
Grer,
It was covered by the local media (I saw it on the ABC affliliate's noon news broadcast) but it wasn't a big deal.
In fact, this hasn't been discussed at all since 2006, when the incident happened, Askew was acquitted and he filed the lawsuit.
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8-10-2008 @ 3:55PM
Sportz Assassin said...
Sorry Matt, but Cincinnati is a city with a horrible history of race relations regarding the police.
When you have to have riots to get your point across ... this kind of crap is out of hand.
There have been other instances of "excessive force" by officers that get brushed aside ... so much so that there was a federal investigation of the police.
-Michael Carpenter was driving a car with expired plates in Northside when police began to chase him. Mr. Carpenter pulled over on a narrow side street, but did not get out of his car. Officer McCurley, standing behind the car, shot nine times, saying he feared for his life when the car began to back up.
-Police began chasing Timothy Thomas on foot through Over-the-Rhine after he was spotted by an officer who recognized him as being wanted on 14 misdemeanor warrants. Officer Stephen Roach finally caught up with him in a dark alley and fired once. The officer later gave conflicting stories about whether the gun “just went off” or he feared Mr. Thomas had a weapon.
-Roger D. Owensby Jr. died after several police officers tackled and handcuffed him in the parking lot of a Roselawn gas station during an arrest. Police officers said he was sought for questioning.
When the public says something about it, the police then "de-police" by basically saying that they won't go after criminals in these neighborhoods.
Sorry, but seeing the city have to pay for overseeing a PD like this ... is a happy thing.
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