Issaquah Officers Broke Elderly Man's Neck, Lawsuit Alleges
ISSAQUAH, WA - Two Issaquah officers broke an elderly man's neck when they restrained him during a domestic violence incident last August, a new lawsuit alleges. That man, Wangshen Leng, died about a month after the incident, and his family is now suing the department for using excessive force.
Leng's family filed the suit in federal court in Seattle on April 3. The department responded to the allegations suit Thursday night, saying that Leng was handcuffed for resisting and so officers could "safely continue their investigation."
"Our sympathies are with Mr. Leng’s family. Law enforcement is required to investigate all calls involving reported domestic violence. The officer responded to this incident under this obligation, and upon discovery that Mr. Leng had medical concerns summoned the necessary medical assistance," the department said in the statement.
But the lawsuit claims that no crime occurred the night Issaquah police went to Leng's home.
"Despite the fact that he was a slight, elderly man with an obvious inability to communicate with them, despite the fact that no crime had occurred, and despite the fact that there was no reasonable basis for believing a crime had happened, the Defendant Officers rushed into Mr. Leng’s apartment to unlawfully seize him within in his own home," the lawsuit says.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/issaquah-officers-broke-elderly-mans-neck-lawsuit-alleges/ar-BBVDM5l
