Abortion Foes Appeal Ruling on <i> Nunchakus</i> : Courts: Jury had found that police use of the pain-compliance devices at a demonstration did not constitute excessive force.

Six abortion protesters are appealing a jury verdict upholding the use of nunchakus , pain-inflicting martial arts weapons, by San Diego police.

The demonstrators had sued the city over the use of the pain-compliance devices, which they claimed caused injuries ranging from a broken wrist to nerve damage, during arrests of Operation Rescue protesters in 1989.

Last January, a federal court jury in San Diego ruled that police followed a reasonable policy, and that nunchakus did not constitute use of excessive force.

Lloyd Tooks, an attorney for the demonstrators, said an appeal notice was filed with the U.S. District Court of Appeals last month.

“The reason my clients are appealing the verdict is that they believe, based upon the law, they should have prevailed, and that the judge made an error when he determined the policy to use pain compliance was constitutional,” Tooks said. The demonstrators “also believe the jury made an error in determining the force used on each of them was reasonable.”

Deputy City Atty. Frank Devaney described the appeal as a case of “sour grapes.”

The demonstrators “were arrested and went through the criminal process and were convicted,” Devaney said. “They went through the civil process and were denied, and now they’re going to use the appellate process, and hopefully they’ll be denied again.”

Devaney’s sentiments were echoed by Assistant Police Chief Dave Worden.

“The fact is they have a legal right to appeal, but we remain confident that what we did at the time was appropriate,” he said. “I think the court’s decision will be upheld by the appeals court.”

Tooks said his appeal will center on Police Chief Bob Burgreen’s decision to choose the type and degree of force his officers would employ when he ordered them to use nunchakus to remove the protesters.

“The law requires, and the San Diego Police Department rules require, police officers in the field to make their own determination as to what amount of force is necessary,” Tooks said. “That is the crucial overriding issue.”

Before the Operation Rescue demonstrations, Burgreen had adopted a three-step policy that, in its initial phases, attempted to have protesters moved without the use of nunchakus.

The policy consisted of ordering the protesters out of the area, then telling them they were under arrest and asking them to get up, and, finally, the use of pain compliance to remove them, consisting of wrapping nunchakus around the demonstrators’ wrists and squeezing.

Nunchakus consist of a pair of 12-inch pieces of hard plastic connected by several inches of nylon cord.

The city and the protesters will file briefs with the court this spring, and arguments could be scheduled for the end of the year, Tooks said.

The demonstrators who filed the appeal are Dr. Michael Forrester, Michaelene Jenkins, Harold and Nancy Scofield and Donna and Dena Niehouse.

After the verdict in January, Devaney, the city’s attorney, said there were some initial moments of indecision by the city as to whether to push forward to trial. That was because of a decision by the Los Angeles Police Department in June, as part of a lawsuit settlement there, to discontinue using nunchakus.