Judge Jack Billings denied a motion for a new trial Wednesday in the case of former University student Ian Van Ornum.
Defense attorneys for the former University student filed the motion after the Lane County Circuit Court jury’s foreman reported to The Register-Guard last week that he and other jurors had concerns that police used excessive force in Van Ornum’s arrest.
Eugene police twice tasered Van Ornum, 19, during his arrest at the rally he organized with the campus group Crazy People for Wild Places. Officers testified that the force used was reasonable and necessary to gain control of the non-compliant student.
Police were summoned to the rally at Broadway and Willamette Streets by Department of Homeland Security agent Tom Keedy. Eugene police officer Bill Solesbee testified that Van Ornum was blocking traffic in the intersection’s crosswalks when he arrived on the scene.
The jury foreman told The Register-Guard that he and other jurors found Van Ornum guilty following specific court instructions despite feeling conflicted about police testimony that omitted facts evidenced by video footage and police records.
Solesbee testified his drive to the scene took seven to 15 minutes because of heavy traffic, while police cell phone and Taser records show that about four minutes passed between the time Solesbee responded to the call and the time the Taser fire was deployed.
Jurors also expressed concerns about officer Judd Warden’s testimony that Van Ornum remained resistant before and after the first tasing, which contradicted Taser video camera evidence that showed Van Ornum lying facedown on the sidewalk when he was tased.
The jury foreman added that the jury was persuaded to convict because of the testimony of two state witnesses who said someone who looked like Van Ornum, wearing a white hazardous materials suit and spraying water from a pesticide sprayer, appeared intimidating in his interactions with passersby.
Van Ornum, unanimously convicted last week by a six-person jury, faces a maximum sentence of a fine of more than $12,000 and two years in prison. His sentencing hearing is set for 11 a.m. Friday in room 304 of the county courthouse.
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Van Ornum’s appeal for new trial rejected
Daily Emerald
April 22, 2009
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