4 Officers Cleared of Civil Rights Charges

A federal court jury Monday found that four Newport Beach police officers did not use excessive force in the arrest of a North Dakota dentist, who alleged he suffered brain damage during a barroom scuffle with police two years ago.

In a unanimous verdict, the six-member jury also found that the officers did not violate the civil rights of Robert Michael Heath and consequently denied Heath’s claim for $5 million in damages.

Heath, 38, claimed he “suffered severe emotional and economic harm” as a result of injuries he allegedly received during a scuffle with reserve officers Douglas Cast and Joseph Brown and full-time officers Pete Perrin and Robert Hardy.

‘Violent Frenzy’

The officers had arrived at the Stag Bar in Newport Beach about midnight on June 24, 1983, to arrest Heath’s brother, Larry, because he reportedly was intoxicated. They subsequently arrested Robert Heath because he was in a “violent frenzy,” according to court documents.

Heath’s attorneys, who said they plan to appeal the verdict to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, had argued that the dentist suffered brain damage during the melee. But Thomas Feeley, an attorney representing Newport Beach, said Heath was “struck in the legs and, at one point when struggling with Officer Cast, struck in the sternum.” He said Cast testified that he never hit Heath in the head.

“Naturally we are pleased with the verdict and think it is a proper result,” Feeley said.

Errors Alleged

Stephen Yagman, one of Heath’s attorneys, said the judge made “a number of errors” during the trial, among them selecting an alternate juror in violation of federal rules. Yagman said Hupp replaced a sick juror at random by drawing lots, instead of selecting in the order in which the jurors were called when initially picked.

“I suppose that’s fortunate for us,” Yagman said during a telephone interview. “It gives us an opportunity to have another trial.”

Yagman said he was trying to reach Heath, who now lives in Naples, Fla., to tell him of the jury’s decision.