By Carlos Miller
The City of Boise wants to make it clear that they are not admitting guilt in the case of a man sodomized by Boise police with a Taser gun.
But they are also dishing out an estimated $150,000 to Gerald Amidon to prevent this matter from going to court.
In some circles, this is called “hush money.”
Details of the settlement were not made public, but the following memo was sent out to officers last week, according to the Boise Guardian:
“On Monday, February 1, 2010 the City reached a settlement agreement in Federal Court in a civil case filed against four Boise Police officers. In his complaint, the plaintiff alleged the four Officers violated his civil rights by using excessive force during his 2009 arrest.
The settlement was reached during a mediation session with a Federal Judge. Present were the Judge, representatives of Boise City, as well as the four Officers.
The settlement agreement contained a confidentiality agreement so all the details were not released. It was agreed that reaching a settlement now would be in the best interest of all parties. The settlement contained a provision that officers were making no admission to violating the plaintiff’s civil rights.”
Although the officers did not admit guilt, a transcript of the tape recording of the incident pretty much confirms the allegations. Amidon also suffered burn marks to his rectum.
Cop: Do you feel this?
Suspect: Yes, sir.
Cop: Do you feel that? That’s my …
Suspect: Okay
Cop: … Taser up your ass.
Suspect: Okay
Cop: So don’t move.
Suspect: I’m trying not to. I can’t breathe.
Cop: Now do you feel this in your balls?
Suspect: I do, sir. I’m not going to move. I’m not gonna move.
Cop: Now I’m gonna tase your balls if you move again.
(A full minute goes by)
Cop: Okay, I’m gonna take this Taser out of your asshole now. Are you going to fight with me?
Suspect: No, not at all, sir.
Cop: (to another cop) So far, for the last two minutes, he’s been cooperative. But then my Taser’s in his ass.
But the incident is far from over. One of the cops involved in the sexual assault has filed a claim against the city for $ 2 million alleging that he was “singled out due to the negative publicity surrounding the arrest incident.”
And for that, I will take partial credit.
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Fernandez, as I mentioned in a 
62 responses so far ↓
1 Jay // Feb 10, 2010 at 7:10 PM
I love how the cops can essentially pay him off while no one gets charged with a crime. Try doing that without a badge. The good citizens of Boise /should/ be heading for the police station with torches and pitchforks to protest how THEY have to pay for a non-charged crime from one of the people who swore to uphold and protect the law for them.
BTW this isn’t a civil rights violation, this is simple human decency violation — the cop that used the taser on this man should have the exact same thing done to him. Twice.
Maybe that would stop the bullying cops from committing crimes behind their badges.
2 the bulldog // Feb 10, 2010 at 7:29 PM
they should make the cops pay!!!!
3 Dorothy Kernagthan-Baez // Feb 10, 2010 at 8:10 PM
I should be shocked and appalled. Unfortunately, give a sociopath a government paycheck and this is what you get.
4 JB // Feb 10, 2010 at 8:21 PM
Did the cop clean the taser before he put it back into the holster? I mean how’d you like to be the next person assaulted with that dirty taser?
5 Hazy // Feb 10, 2010 at 9:04 PM
Although it’s nice that some sort of justice gets dolled out, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of curbing the misconduct. We need to start looking into why DAs are not prosecuting these bad cops and find someone who will uphold the Constitution.
6 Michael Owen Sartin // Feb 10, 2010 at 9:26 PM
The more I hear, the more I imagine sitting on a jury and making the assumption that police testimony, on its face, is not reliable. When a adequate number of people reach this decision, there will be no reason to have police. Anarchy comes at that point in time.
7 genewitch // Feb 10, 2010 at 9:27 PM
no one is commenting on the most disgusting part of this story, that the cop is suing for 2 million dollars… which is more than ten times the amount of money HIS VICTIM WILL RECEIVE.
WTF?
8 Workingindust // Feb 10, 2010 at 10:03 PM
I saw that – $2 mil because he feels like he’s ‘singled out’?!?! Maybe he should go to a country where he can get away with actions like that (China, Iran, N. Korea etc…)
I really wish just once that when somebody has a solid case against the cops like he did to take it all the way up and demand that the city/PD admit fault and strip the certification from the LEO(s). This payoff without admitting fault crap means there’s no accountability and its business as usual for the PD
Workingindust´s last blog ..USAF MH-60A
9 Rob // Feb 10, 2010 at 10:09 PM
I like the fact this guy is being compensated for his ordeal, but…
I really think that settlements like this send the wrong message. I read that message to be that if a cop screws up (or shoves his taser up someone’s ass) he/she will not suffer any consequences. If a private citizen shoved ANYTHING up a cops ass, it would go to trial and that citizen would then PERSONALLY owe money. Cases like this should not be settled out of court. They should go to trial. The individual cops should be held accountable, and they should have less money in their personal bank account as a result.
A non-admission of guilt and a payday by taxpayers lets the offending cops get off scott-free.
Rob´s last blog ..Chasing It
10 Jody // Feb 10, 2010 at 11:37 PM
As much as I would like to see every member of the filth(cops) involved in this incident lined up in a public square in front of a firing squad at least the victim got something, usually the victim ends up in jail charged with contempt of cop because they did not respect their “authority.” Is it mandatory that someone be a total prick in order to become a cop nowadays? The one positive from the depression is the chance that all levels of government will be broke and have to fire all these asshats.
11 JB // Feb 11, 2010 at 12:38 AM
Michael, I recently served on a jury where the defendant was a police officer and there were police testifying on behalf of both sides.
We did find some of them highly credible, some less credible, and one we did not believe at all.
We gauged their reliability the same as we did for the other witness.
12 Johnny Law // Feb 11, 2010 at 12:46 AM
This incident was discussed in depth in a previous posting by Carlos so I won’t rehash it all over again. However don’t get so excited about the settlement. Cities settle lawsuits all the time simply because they don’t want to roll the dice with a jury. $150k is much cheaper than the possibility of a multi-million dollar judgement.
It doesn’t mean the officers actually sodomized someone. Just because Carlos calls it that doesn’t make it true.
Johnny Law´s last blog ..My Saturday Night
13 Carlos Miller // Feb 11, 2010 at 12:52 AM
Yes, it’s hush money.
14 Johnny Law // Feb 11, 2010 at 1:39 AM
I doubt it is as nefarious as that. Most cities are spineless when it comes to defending their police departments and would simply rather minimize their potential losses. I know of many cases where a ridiculous suit was filed and the city settled for a minor amount even though it was an obvious bullshit case. It is common for larger cities to even have a certain amount of money budgeted each year for such settlements.
I will admit that the unprofessional language of the officers makes it more of a crap shoot with a jury so the city probably was smart taking this deal.
Johnny Law´s last blog ..My Saturday Night
15 Tom Joad // Feb 11, 2010 at 2:21 AM
@Johnny Law,
Unprofessional language? That was the only thing wrong with this encounter??? Forget the fact that the suspect was already prone, in cuffs and being suffocated by the LEO’s. Forget the fact that the officers never identified themselves as officers, and the suspect has reason to believe that they might be someone else. Forget the fact that the supervisor on duty erased the audio recording of the interrogation and then lied about it.
JL, I had some respect for your opinions and tried to see things from your perspective, but your bias in this case has made that difficult.
16 Johnny Law // Feb 11, 2010 at 3:37 AM
Tom,
Sorry you feel that way. I think that they could have handled it differently but I can also look at it from the perspective of an officer who just had a confusing struggle at the door in which the officers had to fight their way in. I am not saying that they didn’t use some bad judgement but I do get defensive with it is constantly stated that the officers literally stuck their taser up a person’s anus and tortured him. That is obviously not the case in this incident.
The fact that everyone acts like it actually happened that way shows their bias in the other direction. If you read the police report (http://www.boiseweekly.com/pdf/Amidon_police_report.pdf) it is obvious the officers were trying to get in the residence due to exigent circumstances and that the arrested person was trying to stop them. I think his claim that he didn’t know it was the police is bogus. After all the girlfriend seemed to know who it was and the police were in full uniform.
People here want to make this into the police just deciding to kick in a random door and torture someone. It is nowhere near as black and white as that. In reality it was the police responding to a call for assistance and trying to help the person in need. They had to fight with this guy and used the taser to control him. The threats about the taser and sticking it up his ass were used to intimidate him into compliance so that no more force had to be used.
I don’t expect anyone here to even attempt to look at from the perspective of an officer who just had to kick in a door at 9:oo at night while answering a call for help and having no idea if the person blocking the door is armed or not. I also don’t expect you to understand the adrenaline dump and the fact that the officer was trying to get the situation under control with verbal threats. However I do expect folks here to understand the actual definition of sodomy.
Johnny Law´s last blog ..My Saturday Night
17 Jay // Feb 11, 2010 at 3:59 AM
Unfortunately, the only way I’d believe a police report when there is potential for a cop to get in trouble from said report is if were delivered to me via unicorn or fairy. Many of these cops aren’t truthful, why would their reports be?
A threat of sticking something up someone’s ass might be justified in the heat of the moment. Actually doing it? Criminal. Period.
18 Michaelk42 // Feb 11, 2010 at 7:00 AM
“I also don’t expect you to understand the adrenaline dump and the fact that the officer was trying to get the situation under control with verbal threats.”
Translation: excuses and at the very least verbal torture.
“However I do expect folks here to understand the actual definition of sodomy.”
Once again back to “he (probably) didn’t TECHNICALLY get inside the anus!” Which is really a lot like the classic “Why do you keep hitting yourself? Stop hitting yourself!” technicality logic of the typical bully.
Michaelk42´s last blog ..OH COME ON yeah you guessed it
19 Nemo // Feb 11, 2010 at 11:16 AM
Johnny Law: “They had to fight with this guy and used the taser to control him. ”
Misuse of the TASER at the very least. Cops everywhere like to portray using the TASER as an alternative to using lethal force, but here Johnny admits that this is not always the case. He admits that the TASER was, and should have been, used as a tool of coersion, control, and intimidation as a routine matter.
Yes, I said routine, and I meant it. Other than the cops’ misuse of the TASER, this was a pretty routine call. Further, the fight was over and the cops were in control by the time they tased his ass and threatened to tase his genitals.
As for the police report? I’ll quote the Boise Guardian: “The police accounts are full of lies, including a female officer repeatedly saying the police outside the door identified themselves–which according to recordings and the Ombudsman’s report they failed to do.”
http://boiseguardian.com/2009/07/25/high-voltage-case-low-key-response/
Cops lie. They lie in the official reports, they lie to the innocent about breaking laws that don’t exist, they lie to the press, and they lie on the stand. I’d not give a cop any more benefit of the doubt than I would a drug-addicted burglar at this point.
20 Sydney Carton // Feb 11, 2010 at 12:10 PM
It’s interesting that Jonny Law proclaims that the policy report is the Truth, when in fact the recording prove otherwise. It’s a real shame that he’s wedded to the false reality that police reports are the absolute truth. You’d have hoped that a cop would have an independent mind instead of one that slavishly clings to the stupid idea that police reports always state the truth.
21 Tim Post // Feb 11, 2010 at 12:49 PM
Taser, flashlight, whatever happens to be on the belt .. a person with a gun and powers of arrest simply can not threaten to place objects in someone’s anus, much less threaten their genitals.
I will concede the common, colloquial cliche such as “[do something] or I’ll put my foot up your ass!” To many people, that is simply a figure of speech and easily uttered when flustered. Its widely understood to not be a _literal_ threat.
“If you move again I’ll taze your balls” leaves very little room for interpretation. That is threatening someone with torture while being in a position of authority. What’s next, “Screw your fifth amendment rights, tell me where you were yesterday or I’ll taze your nuts?” while handcuffing someone of interest?
I will agree that most cities would rather settle, its a lot cheaper to put $20k into an annuity for a structured settlement than pay out $2M cold. I will also agree that there are some cases where the city should have defended its officers much more vehemently.
This is not one of those cases. This was “Dear God just make this go away…”
Tim Post´s last blog ..US National Archives Joins Flickr Commons
22 Dorothy Kernagthan-Baez // Feb 11, 2010 at 1:23 PM
“I don’t expect anyone here to even attempt to look at from the perspective of an officer who just had to kick in a door at 9:oo at night while answering a call for help and having no idea if the person blocking the door is armed or not. I also don’t expect you to understand the adrenaline dump and the fact that the officer was trying to get the situation under control with verbal threats.”
I did attempt to look at it from that perspective. As soon as the victim realized the police officers were actually police officers, he cooperated. Threatening to tase the guy’s balls was over the top.
Granted, the officers did not stick the taser up the guy’s ass, but they did tase the victim on the inside of the cheeks. Pretty close to the rectum if you ask me. Close enough that I wouldn’t quibble about calling it sodomy.
23 Chris // Feb 11, 2010 at 1:41 PM
tall trees, short ropes
24 mepsipax // Feb 11, 2010 at 1:45 PM
So, JL he burned his own anus? Threats do not de-escalate a situation. Threatening me sure doesn’t make me want to comply.
mepsipax´s last blog ..I am a Dick
25 Jody // Feb 11, 2010 at 4:11 PM
The Nazis were just following orders and the German people just went along for the ride, will that be you excuse Mr. Law? Good God, I hope every police department in North America goes broke and has to fire everyone, good fucking riddance.
Jody´s last blog ..Growing Movement To Disband Police Departments
26 Simon Jester // Feb 11, 2010 at 4:34 PM
Roll the dice? Implying that there is a possibility that this dirty cop might NOT be guilty as hell?
27 Simon Jester // Feb 11, 2010 at 4:35 PM
Idiot.
This is stuff that even the worst Guantanamo guards would be embarrassed to be caught doing.
28 Johnny Law // Feb 11, 2010 at 5:35 PM
Mepsipax,
The threat of violence is actually a very good way to descalate a resistant subject. You can’t “pretty please” everyone into handcuffs. You comment just shows your lack of knowledge about violent conflicts.
29 Florida // Feb 11, 2010 at 6:18 PM
LMAO @ Chris. Johnny how do you ignore the transcript. Pretty clear cut if you ask me. The cops started this whole violent conflict. They had him down on the ground and could’ve just cuffed him. You can’t make excuses for this—at that point it’s all about physical strength. You either have the physical strength to restrain him or you don’t. This was not necessary force; they did this because they’re some sick SOB’s.
30 willbd // Feb 11, 2010 at 6:49 PM
What some of the facts that people are missing are.
1. The police recorded this and their statements do not match the facts
a. The never said it was the police when the tried to get in to the house.
b. I held the taser only to the small of his back.
c. They said that he was cussing. It’s not on the recording!
2. Officer #10 deleted the integrations tapes and lied about it.
You need to read the report by the city.
http://www.boiseweekly.com/pdf/taser_report.pdf
31 adam // Feb 12, 2010 at 4:52 AM
You’d be amazed at the state of denial that cops go in to when confronted with the FACTS of one of their own breaking the law. I can from reading this guy’s blog that you could show him a video of a cop walking up to a random person on the street and putting a bullet in the person’s head and he would still not say the cop is at fault for anything. It’s really beyond pathetic.
32 adam // Feb 12, 2010 at 4:52 AM
forgot the word “tell”
I can tell…..
Sorry.
33 torgeaux // Feb 12, 2010 at 11:07 AM
The independent, law enforcement conducted investigation concluded that he didn’t know they were police. This was because the police, contrary to their own requirements, never identified themselves as police. Also, he was telling people to call the police at the time they were trying to get in the door. And, his reaction once they were inside indicates A) surprise and then B) cooperation.
Given the witness statements by the other police, the physical evidence, and finally, the non-police witness, I’m not sure this is one to go to bat for the proposition that the police are being rail-roaded. Seems he’s lucky he’s not getting fired.
34 Online Guitar Tuition // Feb 12, 2010 at 1:30 PM
Why is it they seemingly get away with no charges?
35 Johnny Law // Feb 12, 2010 at 1:53 PM
You sure you went to the right blog?
http://law-chronicles.blogspot.com/2010/01/learning-to-de-escalate.html
http://law-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/05/can-of-ass-whipping.html
http://law-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/02/commenter-to-my-previous-posts-brought.html
http://law-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-two-cents.html
Yep, I never criticize other cops.
Johnny Law´s last blog ..My Saturday Night
36 Bill // Feb 12, 2010 at 2:59 PM
Whatever the pigs do, there is always some apologist cop who rushes to their defense. Sorry Johnny, in most cases, I’ll take the word of the citizen over the cops any time. Cops are proven liars, thugs and dirtballs. What is disgusting is the cop will suffer NO consequences for his criminal behavior, not any jail time, not any financial penalty, not even the loss of his job. As was mentioned, if a citizen did this to a “only one”, he would be financially ruined and sent to prison for decades. SICK!
37 gordy three horses // Feb 12, 2010 at 8:44 PM
how would you like me to stick my tazer or night stick up your annus and then threaten you with harm to your nads. a duch bag like you would be screaming for 10 figures or the death penelty at the very least.
38 bali // Feb 12, 2010 at 8:44 PM
Welcome to the system. This is commonplace and you know it if you’ve ever been a cop. If you’re lucky, you will have the whole station, judge, DA, AND the plaintiff’s attorney on your side. A quick settlement is good for everybody except the plaintiff but he was encouraged to settle with a promise of some quick bucks and a threat of never seeing a penny after a lenghty trial.
Let’s face it, he is just as part of this as the cops. He should have fought to go to trial which would have ended with proven wrongdoing on the cops’ part and who knows how much in punitive damages etc…instead he chickened out with some cash now.
Cops in question have dirt on many…blue politics is worse than any other…
39 gordy three horses // Feb 12, 2010 at 8:52 PM
jhonny law is a militerized cop. he dose not believe in to protect and to serve. his motto is we treat you like a king (rodney that is)
40 gordy three horses // Feb 12, 2010 at 9:00 PM
i used to be a texas ranger but i quit because i would not lie for a fellow ranger who was drunk on duty and hit a familly with his vehicle and killed them. because i would not lie for the so called brother ranger, texas d.p.s. made my life a living hell
41 Johnny Law // Feb 12, 2010 at 9:45 PM
When you say you looked at my Blog, did you get past the title? There are many entries that show you don’t know what the heck you are talking about. No surprise there.
42 Johnny Law // Feb 12, 2010 at 9:46 PM
It is good that you have an open mind about the subject then isn’t it?
43 stupidamerkin // Feb 12, 2010 at 10:41 PM
I have a good friend that was also sexually assaulted, but not with a tazer, by a city road pirate. The case is presently under investegation by the state road pirates. Kind of like the monkey guarding the banana plantation.
I myself was just last week pulled over and kidnapped as my vehicle was being carjacked and hauled off to jail where I too was assaulted and coerced into their tyranny before released. No charges ever presented. Just policy. Never arrested in my life before.
These nazi drones we call law enforcement officers are out of control while the courts continue to sanction this criminality because they are criminals themselves. They are all too stupid to see that they too are being controlled by the greed of mammon and power only to be contributing to the end agenda of world control by the real button pushers on this planet.
Most of these adrenaline addicted thugs have all grown up on violent video games and swat team movies to begin with. It is all soon to break loose and then the stage will be set to implement aggressive martial law. They are just doing their job like they did in Germany at the death camps 70 years ago. Fasten your seat belt because here they com.
44 genewitch // Feb 12, 2010 at 11:09 PM
Whoa, jack. Back it up with that violent video games reference. There’s no correlation between criminal violence and video games, and more than enough evidence that “adrenaline dumping” on a computer or TV screen is BETTER than either holding it in or punching a god forsaken pillow.
Repeating mouthpiece crap you heard that there were “studies” about doesn’t make your point more valid, in fact, it makes people like me get bent out of shape that someone is wrong on the internet.
45 Sydney Carton // Feb 12, 2010 at 11:18 PM
Give me a break. If anyone’s close-minded on this, it’s YOU. The recordings prove the police reports to be a bunch of lies, and what do you believe? The police reports.
Your mind is so “open” that your brain fell out.
46 Johnny Law // Feb 13, 2010 at 4:08 AM
I do agree that swat team movies suck. I prefer the hard-nosed dark detective movies. And movies with car chases. But not chases like with mini-coopers like in The Italian Job. Those suck too.
47 adam // Feb 13, 2010 at 4:53 AM
No surprise? You have no idea who I am so why would you not be surprised. I, on the other hand, have followed your comments here and have read a lot of entries in your blog. Some of it was pretty interesting such as the first hand experience on undercover drugs busts, etc. but the way you defend-a-cop-at-all-costs is like I said… beyond pathetic. Coming from a cop.. not a surprise.. I just hoped for more I guess.
48 Jay // Feb 13, 2010 at 6:59 AM
Does anyone have pics of these cops, I would like to see the filth that is ‘protecting’ us.
49 Mike // Feb 13, 2010 at 8:27 AM
Yeah, true anarchy hopefully…not the agent provocateurs you see on TV all the time…just folks who want liberty. http://tolfa.us/
50 Mike // Feb 13, 2010 at 8:33 AM
Are you kidding? He got away with it here and now wants to be rewarded. The people should get a bunch of hemp rope and start testing the lampposts in case the next election is not a clean sweep of all city officials.
I don’t blame the guy for taking what he could get and probably making a new life somewhere that tyrants do not rule.
51 Mike // Feb 13, 2010 at 8:35 AM
Duh! Can you not read the transcript of the tape?
52 Mike // Feb 13, 2010 at 8:44 AM
WOW! I cannot comprehend that anyone would try to justify this criminal activity. Tasers must go until we have civil “peace officers” who will not cover-up for the criminal actions of other officers…I cringe at the thought that those folks still walk this earth freely, let alone carry the title, LEO.
53 Mike // Feb 13, 2010 at 8:55 AM
Would you want to stay in a town ruled by tyrants long enough for a trial. Grab the money and get out of town and hope the town’s people get out the hemp rope and test the lamppost.
54 Mike // Feb 13, 2010 at 9:03 AM
55 Ed // Feb 13, 2010 at 11:13 AM
Cops are hired by government to enforce de facto laws. They have no authority over the people for any arrest lacking a 5th Amendment indictment.
They are not constitutional authorities. And, not only that, if you study Law and then statutes, you will find statutes do not apply to we people, and that a cop in essence acts as a terrorist, per domestic terrorism defined by
Title 18, Section 2331.
People, check it out. Cops have no authority over us. They seldom prevent true crimes (mala in se) and usually do no more than record crimes, but seldom record their own crimes accurately. They are, in essence, liars, thieves, bullies, torturers, and in a society of free people they are a cancer destroying all rights of man.
Read the Law and man-made statutes. Quit presuming authority where none exists.
56 Jack Inhoff // Feb 13, 2010 at 2:05 PM
He got paid over this? I once paid a hooker $20 to give me that type of treatment. I should have found a cop instead.
57 torgeaux // Feb 14, 2010 at 5:25 PM
We have a winner. The paranoid Olympics are over, call it a day!
58 Saul // Feb 14, 2010 at 6:59 PM
The city settled because their insurance company would likely cover the entire amount. If they had gone to trial against the advice of their insurance company, they could have been on the hook for a lot of cash.
Those cops should be doing hard time.
59 Rikki // Feb 14, 2010 at 8:43 PM
I am curious as to why the guy was arrested. Was it for something as minor as a traffic infraction? Was he a pedophile? Not that I am condoning what may or may not have transpired but, I can see how some serious offenders could cause a cop to “lose it”.
60 Paolo // Feb 16, 2010 at 3:39 AM
Johnny Law,
You said “It is good that you have an open mind about the subject then isn’t it?” I had to laugh cause if anyone has a mind trapped shut it is you.
The facts are the facts and they are indefensible.
61 Supernintendo Chalmers // Feb 16, 2010 at 4:54 PM
SORRY, taxpayers.
62 bk // Feb 27, 2010 at 7:29 PM
It’s easy to say the cop shouldn’t be shoving an electrical device up someones asshole, but what did this guy do anyways? I don’t feel like the victim deserves sympathy unless we know the facts. Maybe the cop was that threatened by him? 160,000 is a tad much though, don’t know about that. Just fire the cop, issue an apology, and 50K wouldve been plenty.
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