Police brutality suit

The city of Midland has settled a police brutality lawsuit with a 69-year-old woman who sought millions of dollars in damages after she was forcibly detained and injured by a veteran police officer at the Midland International Airport.

Christiane A. Landreth sued the city and officer Chris M. Earp in federal court after her March 2008 arrest, demanding $4 million in compensation for various injuries and psychological trauma. Landreth accused Earp of using excessive force and arresting her without cause moments after she returned from a skiing vacation in Canada.

Earp argued he was merely keeping the peace after Landreth caused a disturbance while waiting in line to file a claim for her luggage. He claimed qualified immunity in response to the lawsuit, a defense that was dealt a significant blow earlier this month when a judge sided with Landreth and ruled there were doubts as to whether Earp’s actions were objectively reasonable.

Several witnesses called the incident horrifying and said Landreth’s arrest appeared to be an overreaction on Earp’s part. Experts who reviewed the case blamed Earp, who stands 6 feet tall and weighed at least 225 pounds at the time, for using excessive force in detaining Landreth, a petite, elderly woman.

An internal affairs investigation faulted Earp, 37, and prompted police to suspend him without pay for eight days, court documents show. Though Earp sought to charge Landreth with resisting arrest, she was quickly released from jail and was not prosecuted.

Landreth’s attorney, Hal Brockett of Midland, said all parties were "satisfied" with the settlement. He declined to divulge to the terms of the agreement, saying it was unclear whether the city would request confidentiality.

Although Brockett expressed confidence in his case, he said several hurdles could have prevented Landreth from prevailing had the case gone to trial. The case had been scheduled for trial later this month.

"I really, really liked the facts and really didn’t like the law," Brockett said, explaining that the city could have argued sovereign immunity and avoided liability.

Calls and e-mails to Midland city officials were not returned.

Landreth’s injuries stemmed from an arrest depicted gruesomely in court papers.

On the day of the arrest, Landreth had not eaten in nearly 24 hours because someone reportedly stole her purse in Canada and one of her flights had been delayed. Landreth was further irritated when she and her co-passengers learned they would have to file a claim with their airline in order to retrieve their luggage.

"She was not in a good mood," Senior U.S. District Judge Harry Lee Hudspeth concluded in a ruling this month.

According to a police report, Landreth was talking loudly on her cell phone with her husband, who was waiting outside the airport, when Earp received word from airport officials of a possible disturbance.

Then the situation began to deteriorate.

After Landreth finished her call, Earp confronted her, court papers show, though it is not clear exactly what prompted the arrest. Only portions of the struggle were captured on the surveillance video, and Landreth and Earp offered conflicting versions of whether Landreth raised a fist to resist arrest.

At one point, Earp grabbed Landreth’s wrist and forced her to the ground. Earp later maintained that he detained Landreth to prevent an attack. Witnesses, meanwhile, testified that they never saw Landreth ball her fist or attempt to strike Earp.

According to court documents, Landreth injured her thigh and broke her glasses when she was taken to the ground.

"You could almost feel it yourself," said Jerry Zapata, who was waiting in line with his wife. He became emotional about the incident during a deposition. "It’s kind of embarrassing (to cry), but it was just too much," he said. "If that had been my grandma or my mom, you know, I wouldn’t have wanted that."

Landreth also urinated on herself during the struggle and complained to Earp that she could not breathe. The lawsuit says Landreth screamed: "You’re going to break my arms!" According to the suit, Earp replied, "If you can talk, then you can breathe."

After Landreth was handcuffed, Earp cut the strap of her purse with a pocketknife because it had become entangled. He led Landreth to a police car past her husband, who was aghast at the sight of his wife in police custody.

"Prior to transport, (Landreth) asked the transporting officer to kindly remove her urine soaked hair from her lips," the suit claims. "Plaintiff’s request was met with a stern response, ‘No!’ "

A day later, Landreth filed a complaint with the internal affairs division and received word in June 2008 that her allegations had been "sustained."

Contacted Tuesday at the airport, Earp declined to comment on the settlement. His attorney, Jon Mark Hogg of San Angelo, is out this week and could not be reached for comment. Midland Police Chief Price Robinson also is out of town this week and could not be reached, and Deputy Chief Jeff Darr did not return a call for comment. Midland City Manager Courtney Sharp did not return calls for comment. The city’s attorney, Aaron M. Dorfner, said in an e-mail message that he could not comment because the suit has not been formally dismissed.

In the months following her arrest, Landreth complained of sleepless nights and was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. In a deposition last year, she said she is still afraid to fly out of Midland International Airport, a circumstance she said has limited her trips to visit her family in France.

She said she still has nightmares about the incident.

"I would wake up and scream and scream," she said in a deposition.