A Federal Way man is calling for reforms in the police department after winning a lawsuit judgment against the force.
Josiah Hunter witnessed a crash in 2014 while standing outside a convenience store.
“We ran over, seen the two cars smashed up,” he said.
Hunter said he helped keep one of the drivers from leaving the scene before Federal Way officers arrived. There, accounts of the night diverge. Police say Hunter didn’t follow lawful orders. Hunter says he did and was simply trying to help.
He says he eventually went to leave, as instructed.
“I open my car door a little bit, and that’s when Officer (Kris) Durell runs over, pushes my left-hand door shut,” Hunter said, “…grabs me, starting choking me, lifts me up. As he’s doing that, he’s telling me to stop resisting arrest. At the time I couldn’t breathe, was scared, was panicking trying to get out to tell him I’m not resisting arrest, but I couldn’t talk.”
Hunter was arrested, though the charges were later dropped.
The incident led him to file a federal civil rights lawsuit. A jury decided in his favor this week, awarding $640,000.
Still – he’s not satisfied. He wants to see Federal Way end the practice of choking.
“You can spark a change,” he said. “You can make a change.”
“The concern for us is if our son had resisted that night, he might not be here right now,” said his mother, Sanetta. “He might not be telling his story. That’s how serious it was … This whole practice needs to stop. It needs to stop.”
Federal Way police did not initially respond to direct questions about its policies on choking when contacted, but said in a statement: “We are disappointed with the jury's decision in favor of the plaintiff. … Once the city has fully reviewed the court's decision, a determination will be made as to the next course of action.”
A spokesperson for the department later added: "We don’t choke people. We utilize what’s called the Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint (LVNR)."
The department maintains that the force was reasonable under the circumstances.
The same statement included a quote from Mayor Jim Ferrell:
“While I respect the jury’s decision in the Josiah Hunter civil lawsuit against the City, we believe that legal errors were committed during this trial. Therefore, we are going to appeal this decision. I want to make it clear that the men and women of the Federal Way Police Department have my full faith and confidence. The City of Federal Way has zero tolerance for police misconduct, and we do not believe that that is what transpired in this case.”
Hunter plans to continue his fight before the city council next month.
“It’s just hurtful to go to help, be a Good Samaritan like I would hope somebody would do for me in that situation, then turn around and be choked for basically helping,” he said.
"I know there's a lot of good cops out there, but you always have that one bad apple in the tree," Hunter added. "My fear is to run into that one bad apple over all the good ones."
