49er Fan Loses Case Against Anaheim Police, Gets Scolding

A federal appeals court Thursday rejected the claims of a San Francisco 49er fan that Anaheim police used excessive force--a finger hold--to roust him from a rowdy confrontation during a 1984 Rams-49ers game.

In fact, the three judges of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told 49er fan Robert Kiser that the Anaheim officers “are to be commended for their actions.”

Kiser, his wife, Claudia, and their friends Peter and Marlene Eberle were accused of being “belligerent, using foul language and making rude hand gestures” as they sat in the midst of Rams fans at Anaheim Stadium.

After police were called to defuse the situation, Claudia Kiser pushed one officer, Marlene Eberle threw a beer on another and shouts and jeers persisted from an estimated 60 to 70 Rams fans who had gathered to watch, according to the court.

Kiser was escorted to a security office by an officer using a finger-hold and his wife and friends were brought along.

Kiser sued Anaheim and six officers in 1986 claiming use of excessive force.

A jury ruled in favor of the officers in a trial in Los Angeles in 1988.

Thompson wrote that the officers “controlled and diffused a volatile situation which easily could have erupted into a perilous melee.” The 49ers won the game, 45-35.