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Biker sues Gold Hill, ex-police chief Wants $500,000 for alleged brutality By CHRIS BRISTOL The city of Gold Hill has been sued by a dirt biker who was roughed up by former police chief David Crawford after a chase. Chris Brooks seeks $500,000 in damages, alleging city officials ignored "numerous" brutality complaints about Crawford, which created an "atmosphere of lawlessness" that only encouraged the officer. The lawsuit, filed Sept. 27 in Jackson County Court, names Crawford as a co-defendant. City officials declined comment Monday, citing advice of counsel. Nothing about the lawsuit had cropped up publicly in recent weeks despite controversy over the future of the police department. The council last week voted 4-2 to keep the police department instead of negotiating a contract with the sheriff's department. The lawsuit alleges the city violated Brooks' civil rights by failing to properly train and supervise Crawford, "thereby creating ... an atmosphere of lawlessness in which defendant Crawford would employ excessive and illegal force and violence in the belief that such acts (would be) condoned and justified by his superiors." Brooks also alleges negligence, as well as assault and battery. Crawford resigned in June, shortly after he was convicted of three misdemeanors that stemmed from the Jan. 2 incident involving Brooks and an unrelated off-duty traffic dispute in 1996. He had been named chief in 1997 after his predecessor was fired for unrelated misconduct. The lawsuit alleges Crawford kicked Brooks and jumped on his back after a chase along the railroad tracks near town, then punched him in the side and dragged him by the handcuffs. Brooks also alleges Crawford threatened to take him to jail if he failed to "keep quiet about what happened." Medford attorney Lee Ferguson, who represents Brooks, declined Monday to comment on the case, except to affirm her client's position that city officials had received complaints about Crawford and failed to act on them. "We certainly think that, and we think the evidence is there," she said. Without elaborating, the lawsuit alleges city officials ignored "numerous complaints" that Crawford was violent and "knew or should have known" he was likely to injure someone or violate someone's civil rights. "The failure ... to discharge defendant Crawford after notice of his previous violent and abusive behavior as a Gold Hill police officer amounts to gross negligence and a deliberate indifference to the safety and lives of the citizens of Gold Hill," the complaint says. Since his resignation, the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training has begun proceedings to suspend or revoke Crawford's police certification. Since his resignation the city has relied on Jackson County sheriff's deputies for protection. Such coverage is for emergencies only. Last week the council voted not to abolish a 1982 city ordinance that established the police department. The council then began screening applicants for a new police chief. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA