Tag: Chico police

Taser pain minimized at Rushing trial

Testimony from ‘cottage industry of exoneration’ aided Chico police
by Dave Waddell | Posted October 29, 2024

The pain of the taser was “searing … like a baseball bat swung hard and squarely into the small of your back. That sensation, which is actually two sharp steel barbs piercing your skin and shooting electricity into your central nervous system, is followed by the harshest, most violent spasm you can imagine coursing through your entire body.” – Journalist Matt Stroud in his book “Thin Blue Lie.”

SACRAMENTO — Three years ago, the New York Times published a deeply reported story on how paid experts help exonerate police in killing cases. This month, that “cottage industry of exoneration,” including one expert who has made a fortune minimizing the dangers of tasers, operated at full gear on the 15th floor of the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse. read more

Rushings lose federal civil rights lawsuit

Jury finds tasing of motionless Tyler Rushing not excessive force
by Dave Waddell | Posted October 17, 2024

photo courtesy of Rushing family

Tyler Rushing

SACRAMENTO – An eight-person jury decided today that the tasing seven years ago of the thrice-shot, motionless Tyler Rushing by a Chico police officer was not excessive force.

Jurors did find negligence in the incident by police, but attached no monetary award to that judgment, said Mark Merin, attorney for Tyler’s parents, Scott and Paula Rushing.

The decision was a victory for the City of Chico and defendant officers Alex Fliehr, Jeremy Gagnebin and Cedric Schwyzer in a civil rights lawsuit brought by the Rushings.

The family is “pretty devastated, as you might imagine,” Scott Rushing said shortly after the verdict. “My anger level is pretty much off the charts.” read more

Officers defend use of taser on fallen Rushing

Civil rights trial continues with more testimony in federal court
by Dave Waddell | Posted October 10, 2024

photo courtesy of Rushing family

Tyler Rushing

SACRAMENTO – Jurors on Wednesday (Oct. 9) viewed video clips from Chico police officers’ body-worn cameras that captured the last instants of Tyler Rushing’s life.

A dominant color in the scene was the bright red of Rushing’s blood framing his semi-prone body. After bleeding out for the better part of an hour following a serious gunshot wound to his chest from a private security guard, Rushing was shot twice more by a Chico police sergeant and lay on the floor of a title company’s women’s restroom.

Rushing’s buttocks were exposed, his shorts apparently having been pulled down by a biting police dog during a slippery, chaotic struggle with several officers. read more

Tasing of Tyler focus of long-delayed trial

Rushings seek verdict that Chico police violated son’s constitutional rights
by Dave Waddell | Posted October 6, 2024

photo by Leslie Layton
Scott & Paula Rushing after their July hearing at the North Butte County Courthouse.

On the eve of a long-awaited civil rights trial over their late son’s tasing by Chico police, Scott and Paula Rushing are “cautiously optimistic” about getting justice for Tyler.

The Estate of Tyler Rushing v. City of Chico will be tried beginning at 9 a.m. Monday (Oct. 7) in Courtroom 4 on the 15th floor of the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse, 501 “I” Street, in Sacramento. Judge Dale A. Drozd of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California will preside.

On Oct. 4, Drozd issued a tentative decision on various motions. Scott Rushing characterized the overall ruling as “about the best we could get” given previous court decisions. Critically, from the Rushings’ standpoint, Drozd will permit the jury to learn what Rushing called “the totality of circumstances” that led up to Tyler’s tasing. The City wanted testimony restricted to the tasing itself. read more

Chico PD shooting review slams sergeant

In-house analysis: Sgt. Ruppel made string of mistakes in Rushing death
by Dave Waddell | Posted September 12, 2024

The PowerPoint review of the 2017 Tyler Rushing killing that the City of Chico refused to release until ordered by a judge to do so.

A veteran Chico police sergeant did almost everything wrong on the night seven years ago when he gunned Tyler Rushing down, according to Chico PD’s own analysis of the incident.

The recently disclosed in-house review, which the Chico City Council spent many tax dollars trying unsuccessfully to suppress, also criticizes that sergeant, Scott Ruppel, for “dangerously” shooting the critically wounded Rushing while he was in the grasp of two other officers.

Escaping criticism in the analysis was Billy Aldridge, now Chico’s police chief and then a lieutenant and the department’s on-duty watch commander during the incident. Aldridge never took command until after Rushing was shot. The PowerPoint criticizes Ruppel for his failure to “relinquish” control before authorizing a siege on a restroom that ended in Tyler being shot to his death and then tased while incapacitated. read more

Court orders City to release documents in Tyler Rushing case

City's non-compliance with public records laws will cost taxpayers
by Leslie Layton | Posted July 9, 2024

photo by Leslie Layton
Scott & Paula Rushing after their July 8 hearing at the North Butte County Courthouse.

This story was updated at 2 p.m. today to add comments from both parties’ attorneys.

Shortly after taking under submission a public records dispute, Butte County Superior Court Judge Stephen Benson ruled July 8 that the City of Chico must release a PowerPoint presentation on the 2017 police killing of Tyler Rushing.

The ruling in favor of Tyler’s father, Scott Rushing of Ventura, requires that the City release requested information “without redactions.” Scott Rushing filed his request under the state’s Public Records Act almost 19 months ago on the premise that the PowerPoint appears to have been created for training purposes. read more