Lt. Mike Dixon delivering one of three elbow blows to the face of Bryan Spradlin
In 2011, Lieutenant Mike Denton was assisting officers who had arrested Bryan Spradlin for public intoxication. Officers said Spradlin was uncooperative as they tried to enter the station and that's when Lieutenant Dixon repeatedly abused Spradlin by stepping on his head, bending his handcuffed arm behind his head, dragging him into a doorframe and finally elbowing the handcuffed Spradlin three times in the face. Now, before we go any further into the facts of this case, watch the video the city of Owasso released of the incident:
Seems like a pretty clear case of excessive force, no? The investigation came after Spradlin and another officer claimed Denton used excessive force during the arrest. Owasso, Oklahoma officials agreed and fired Lieutenant Dixon in 2011. Feeling that he was wrongfully terminated,
Dixon promptly sued the city, claiming he acted in self-defense because he could tell Spradlin was about to spit in his face. An arbitrator in the case agreed with Dixon:
Arbitrator Edward Valverde ruled in June 2012 that Denton should be reinstated, saying that even though the officer used unreasonable and unnecessary force, his actions "did not rise to the level of excessive force within the meaning of existing case law."
Valverde reduced the discipline from firing to a written reprimand and ordered the city to reinstate Denton with back pay and benefits.
The city of Owasso refused and filed a countersuit.
On Jan. 9, Tulsa County Associate District Judge Dana Kuehn found that reinstating Denton would pose "a special risk of injury, physical and psychological, to citizens and, if he is allowed reinstatement, the department will be faced with explaining why Owasso allows abusive conduct by its officers, which is against the law."
In 2014, an Oklahoma Appeals Court
overruled Judge Dana Kuehn:
On April 15, 2014, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals reversed Kuehn's decision. In an opinion written by presiding judge Larry Joplin, the appeals court said the trial court erred in vacating the arbitrator's decision. It said there was no public policy impediment to reinstating Denton.
The city of Owasso continued their challenge and the Oklahoma Supreme Court initially agreed to hear the case, but later said they would not hear it, saying the case had been resolved.
So, the city of Owasso was forced to reinstate Dixon and today the Owasso City Council announced an agreement to backpay his salary:
Lt. Mike Denton will receive $283,420.04 in benefits relating to base pay, vacation, sickness and health.
Lieutenant Dixon got his badge back on September 22, 2014 and is back to work in the streets of Owasso.