National Roundup

Kansas
Newspaper wins lawsuit over release of police videos
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas newspaper can have access to videos shot by Wichita Police body cameras in two high-profile incidents, a judge ruled last week.

The ruling came more than three years after The Wichita Eagle requested  copies of the videos. Sedgwick County District Judge Jeffrey E. Goering said in his ruling on Wednesday that the city of Wichita "acted in bad faith and without a reasonable basis in law" by withholding the footage.

One of the videos relates to an alleged police cover-up of a hit-and-run collision involving an off-duty Wichita police officer that was investigated by the FBI. The second video involves an Iraqi-American man who was handcuffed and detained after he tried to deposit a $151,000 check at a local bank. That man was later released without any charges after police determined the check was real.

Goering said releasing the videos would serve the public interest because they would help residents evaluate police conduct.

The city said it disagrees that officials "acted in bad faith" but that it would abide by the ruling. The city was also ordered to pay the Eagle's legal fees in the case.

The newspaper's attorney, Lyndon Vix, said the ruling should help clarify how public records requests for police videos in Kansas should be handled and when the release of records is in the public interest.

Emily Bradbury, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, said the ruling will promote government transparency.

"The judge's ruling in this case warns public agencies that there are consequences for keeping the press in the dark," Bradbury said. "We are hopeful that public agencies throughout the state will be more inclined to reasonably respond to open records requests going forward."


Washington
Man exonerated of murder files lawsuit against county authorities
SEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state man who was exonerated of murder after serving more than 20 years in prison has sued King County, the city of Bothell and several sheriff's deputies and police officers.

Ian Simmers, 42, filed the lawsuit claiming authorities violated state and federal law during the 1995 investigation that Simmers said led to his wrongful conviction, The Seattle Times reported  Thursday. Simmers is seeking unspecified compensatory damages, attorneys' fees and costs.


A King County Superior Court jury convicted Simmers in March 1996 of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Rodney Gochanour, 35.

Simmers was sentenced to 46 years and eight months in prison and served about 23 years of that sentence before he was exonerated and released two years ago after new DNA evidence emerged.

The lawsuit claims Bothell police officers and county sheriff's deputies kept Simmers, who was 16 at the time, in custody for 10 hours overnight and refused to let him speak to his mother or an attorney.

Investigators also used "manipulative and coercive interrogation tactics" and "fed Ian details about the crime in an effort to force and fabricate a confession," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit accuses authorities of pinning the crime on Simmers even though there was "no forensic evidence" or witnesses tying him to the crime.

"For more than 50 years, we've established that there are special rules to abide by when you're questioning children because they're more vulnerable," said Simmers' lawyer, David Owens. "You cannot treat teenagers like they're adults."

The Bothell Police Department referred questions about the lawsuit to the Bothell City attorney's office and the King County sheriff's office referred questions to the county's prosecuting attorney's office. Both declined to comment.

Prosecutors claimed during the trial that Simmers was with a friend on a trail when he encountered Gochanour and attacked him with a knife. The Times reported that prosecutors claimed Simmons "did it for the thrill."

The main evidence was a taped confession Simmers made to police, though Owens noted several discrepancies — including the size of the knife and the day that the stabbing happened. Simmer's mother, stepfather and stepbrother also testified he was home when the stabbing occurred.

Owens in 2017 requested that the attorney's office reinvestigate the case. The next year, Simmers filed a motion to vacate his conviction based on the results of new DNA on the knife and on Gochanour's fingernail clippings that did not match Simmers, the lawsuit said.

State prosecutors in 2019 moved to vacate the conviction, but said the state "has not and does not agree that the defendant is innocent of the crime or that he was wrongly convicted."

Simmers is now living with family in Kent and works nearby.

"One of the biggest (challenges) is a disconnect from community. The community that I grew up in was much tighter. … But work has made that easier," Simmers said.


California
Man accused of arranging sex with minor over calls from jail
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — California authorities said they have evidence an inmate tried to arrange sex with a minor during phone calls made from a county jail.

Michael Starkweather, 36, of San Bernardino was booked on suspicion of unlawful communication with a minor with the intent to commit sexual acts, The Sun reported Saturday.

Starkweather was in custody at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino after being sentenced for being a felon in possession of a firearm and violating post-release supervision.

Starkweather was sentenced in March 2018 to 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to felony evading and grand theft auto, superior court records show.

Investigators said in a statement that Starkweather contacted a minor "dozens of times during recorded jail phone calls and written correspondence" and expressed his intent to commit sexual acts with the minor when he was released.

An attorney for Starkweather could not be immediately contacted.