Experts differ on the force Trooper Kenneth Jones used on a Narragansett tribe member

Friday, July 25, 2008

By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — Two experts on police practices presented jurors yesterday with dueling opinions about the force Trooper Kenneth Jones used when he twisted Narragansett tribe member Adam Jennings’ ankle during a state police raid on a tribal smoke shop five years ago.

To Reginald F. Allard Jr., Jones’ ankle hold constituted excessive force when he continued to twist after it became clear Jennings no longer posed a threat. That moment came when an officer assisting in Jennings’ arrest got up, adjusted his hat, and walked away, said Allard.

“The force applied was unreasonable and not necessary because Mr. Jennings was under control when the ankle was twisted and broken,” said Allard, a former Connecticut police officer who testified on Jennings’ behalf.

To Lt. Darren Delaney, an instructor at the state police training academy, Jones properly applied the hold and used appropriate force given the level of resistance Jennings showed by tucking his hands into his body and kicking.

Just because Jennings’ ankle was broken in the confrontation does not mean Jones used the technique incorrectly, Delaney said.

Both men testified yesterday in U.S. District Court in the third day of the retrial of the civil suit Jennings brought against Jones after the raid. Jennings accuses Jones of violating his civil rights by using excessive force when he twisted his ankle until it broke while placing him under arrest.

The state police executed a search warrant on tribal land in Charlestown on July 14, 2003, to stop the Narragansetts from selling tax-free cigarettes. The raid erupted into a confrontation that left eight people injured, including Jennings, and eight tribal members facing misdemeanor charges. In April, Jennings was found not guilty of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Allard told the eight-member jury yesterday that the ankle hold was a reasonable method of bringing Jennings under control — initially. It became excessive when Sgt. Wilfred K. Hill got up from assisting in Jennings’ arrest and walked away. Hill’s abandonment of the scene proves there was no longer a threat, he said.

In addition, he said, the officers could have told Jennings he was under arrest instead of taking him down to the floor.

Under questioning by Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Partington, Allard acknowledged Jennings has paid him $11,000 for testimony. Allard also admitted that needing five troopers to get Jennings to comply indicated “someone was resisting arrest.”

Partington asked whether it might have been difficult for Jones to process all the information in the 10 seconds between when Hill walked away and when Jennings yelled out in pain. Police officers, Allard said, are expected to make split-second decisions.

Delaney told the jury that the state police are taught to respond to the actions of an arrestee and adjust their tactics accordingly. The ankle hold is a compliance technique used to bring someone who is actively resisting and “assaultive” — as Jennings was — under control, he said, and it is easier to handle someone on the ground.

“We teach them to respond to what the subject is doing physically,” Delaney said, and not if they complain of pain.

Jones, who learned the hold at the training academy in 1997, used it properly and did not use excessive force, Delaney said. Jennings, he said, kicked throughout the entire arrest and officers were concerned about weapons, including their own. Jennings complied only just before being handcuffed, he said.

Under questioning by Jennings’ lawyer, Michael Bradley, Delaney acknowledged that officers should lessen force as resistance lessens, and that the ankle hold could interfere with an arrestee’s ability to obey commands.

Both Allard and Delaney said they teach officers the hold could result in a fractured ankle.

Jones also took the stand, saying he became involved in Jennings’ arrest when he saw him back into a corner with his hands tucked into his waist after an officer yelled “cuff him.” Jennings, he said, started kicking when he grabbed his legs.

He said he repeatedly told Jennings “show me your hands” and did not know whether he had a weapon. Jennings remained rigid, fighting control, as Jones maintained the ankle hold, Jones said.

“It was like a tug of war as his body was rolling from side to side,” Jones said. Jennings, he said, might have told him something about the ankle during the struggle and definitely yelled out in pain.

Under cross-examination by Bradley, Jones said Jennings complied only after saying “ow” and was then handcuffed. Bradley questioned how Jones would know exactly when Jennings was cuffed if he was so focused on maintaining the hold.

Jones acknowledged he injured Jennings, but said he did not believe he had broken his ankle. His testimony will continue today.

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