A local activist has filed a lawsuit against two members of the Eugene Police Department and the City of Eugene, claiming he was wrongly arrested and jailed and injured during the process.
On Jan. 14, former Eugene resident Joshua Schlossberg filed suit against Officer Bill Solesbee, Chief of Police Pete Kerns and the City of Eugene over a confrontation that Schlossberg had with Solesbee last year.
“It is apparent that Solesbee, Kerns and other EPD employees have shown a blatant disregard for the constitutionally-granted first amendment rights of Eugene citizens, and that little to nothing has been done by the City of Eugene to put an end to, much less discourage, this disturbing criminal behavior,” Schlossberg said in a statement.
On March 13, 2009, Schlossberg was distributing pamphlets outside of the Umpqua Bank on Oak Street in downtown Eugene when EPD Officer Caryn Barab approached him.
Schlossberg was holding a video camera at the time and the video he shot of the incident depicts the officer informing Schlossberg that police had received complaints of people being “harassed” when entering and leaving the bank.
The officer informed Schlossberg that he was “fine” in the location, and, after asking for his name, left.
In another video apparently taken directly after the first, Solesbee is seen exiting the bank and approaching Schlossberg. Solesbee then is heard informing Schlossberg that he must remain moving and not sitting in order to be compliant with the law.
“You can’t have a stationary position on a sidewalk without a permit,” Solesbee said in video of the incident. “You don’t have a permit to do this, you can’t do this.”
The video then ended when Solesbee demanded Schlossberg hand over the video recording, citing it as evidence. The police report says Schlossberg had the camera hidden, but Schlossberg says he acknowledged to the officer that he was filming.
Solesbee charged and handcuffed Schlossberg when he refused to hand over the video camera.
Schlossberg claims that after the video ended, Solesbee ran toward him and forced him to the ground, which is when Schlossberg hit his head on the ground. Schlossberg claims Solesbee jammed his knee into Schlossberg’s back before being handcuffed and taken into custody.
The police report from the incident states that Schlossberg was resisting arrest when he became tense while being handcuffed. The charges of resisting arrest and intercepting
communications were later dropped.
The lawsuit alleges that Solesbee interfered with Schlossberg’s constitutional protected activities, namely the right to assembly. The lawsuit states, “Plaintiff also suffered pain and injuries to his right temple, right ear, forehead, left side of his head, jaw, a cut to the bridge of his nose, abrasions to both knees and wrists, pain and bruising to his right hand and arm and left hand.”
Schlossberg first filed a complaint against Solesbee in July 2008. In the complaint, Schlossberg alleges Solesbee used excessive force when arresting former University student Ian Van Ornum at an anti-pesticide rally in May of 2008. Schlossberg said he believes his arrest in March was retaliation for the complaint.
“I believe that Officer Solesbee targeted me as an act of retaliation for filing a criminal complaint against him in 2008 and for my role as an outspoken political organizer in Eugene,” Schlossberg said.
Schlossberg has since moved from the area and now lives in Vermont.
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