Courthouse News Service
The story began back in 2011 with the man being pulled over for no reported reason. It is just now coming to court.
The complaint states: "When plaintiff was stopped, he was confronted by LPD officers with their service revolvers drawn and pointed at him and he was immediately ordered to raise his hands and get out of the van. Plaintiff politely responded that he couldn't raise his hands and get out of the van at the same time due to his being a double amputee and needed his hands to help lift his improperly fitted prosthetic legs that were only duct taped to the upper remaining portions of his legs.
Duct-taped on? Outrageous.
There are no reports or allegations that the man was doing anything wrong nor that he was in any way threatening the police.
In trying to comply with the officers' demands, Duffie says, he tried to get out of the van, but his "prosthetic leg fell off, causing him to tumble to the pavement, violently striking his head and shoulder against the street and tearing the rotator cuff of his left shoulder as a result of the fall from the van."
While on the ground he got the typical abusive immobilization techniques one always sees in police brutality videos and movies: kneed in his back, on his neck, grinding him into the pavement. They mocked him for being "a cripple" and are reported to have searched his van without reported probable cause OR a warrant. During the manhandling he incurred a torn rotator cuff.
"Finally, after thirty (30) minutes of crying in pain on the street and finding nothing in his van, LPD officers removed the handcuffs and allowed the plaintiff to crawl under the van to retrieve his prosthetic legs."
He has taken them to court
He seeks medical expenses and damages for civil rights violations, pain and suffering, diminished earning capacity, negligence, failure to train, and constitutional violations.
21st Century America.
Cops remain out of control across this once-great nation.
Persons with amputations to have to DUCT-TAPE their prostheses to themselves. Just outrageous, but that is the state of healthcare access.
And racism seems to be exploding rather than waning: No post-racial America yet.
[UPDATE]:
I saw the article first at Alternet, which linked to the Court Reporter link I used.
A couple other blogs linked to the court reporter.
NO news items on Google news could be found.
Google search on Mr Duffie turned up a link to an unnamed business, an address and telephone # in Lincoln, which obviously I didn't post, as well as an obituary for a Marine with the same name.
One of the blog posts I didn't use listed Mr Duffie as a 'vet' but appears to have mistaken the obit for this man.