The Errant Assailer on the Ludington Police Department

[XLFD]

Introduction

 

On the night of Monday, April 22 at the Ludington City Council Meeting, I brought up the past to illustrate a clear and present danger to our community.  I was mildly rebuked by Mayor Henderson for doing so, and of course, he did not allow me to finish the story, strictly keeping me to speaking five minutes.  Apparently, he would rather look the other way instead of addressing the problem.  Police Chief Mark Barnett, who should be well aware of the problem, remained silent.  He has that right.

 

Why am I focusing on Officer Sailor?  Do I have a grudge against him?  Let's say that until this year, I didn't know what an 'Aaron Sailor' was, the only local Saylor I knew was a sleazy attorney from the City of Ludington law firm from Manistee.  When his name came up in a local civil suit, knowledge of which was basically blocked unlawfully from the public, I investigated the case and found a lot more than what I expected in the public record.

 

What I read in the three separate federal lawsuits against this man (and others) for police brutality and other crimes against the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of multiple innocent people, left me thinking that if I just believe what Aaron Sailor has said on depositions, then this is a potentially dangerous law enforcement officer.  If all the allegations are based on facts, there can be little doubt that entrusting Aaron Sailor with police power is dangerous not only to innocent members of the public, but also to the liability of the public body he serves in that capacity.    

 

Pay attention to the timeline in this story, the first two lawsuits interlap.  That is due to the late start up of the first suit mentioned, which originated in 2003 but wasn't brought to trial until 2007, due to what the courts had deemed malicious prosecution of the plaintiffs by the City of Pontiac under exaggerated information by the responding officers, one of whom which was Ludington Police Department's own Aaron Sailor.

 

The backdrop of this story originates also that year in May 2003, the Oakland Community College graduated new Police, among them a man named Aaron Sailor.  Sailor was to get a job with the Pontiac Police Dept. after graduation.  Ironically, Mark Barnett had graduated from the same college and was an officer for Pontiac for many years, though both stints were prior to Sailor's employment by Pontiac, as he was Chief of the Ludington Police Department (LPD) by 2003 ( Mark Barnett Pontiac Police officer ).

 

2003 Lean, Green and Mean

On August 26, 2003, Rookie cop Aaron Sailor responded with fellow officers Lopez and Green to a disturbance in Pontiac, a weird disturbance.  A young woman allegedly was assaulted in her car by a Eugene Riley, he then proceeded to go into her house and disrobe himself, yelling that people were after him.  He refused to leave after being asked to, and began assaulting the three other plaintiffs.  The police arrived and in the process of separating Riley from the plaintiffs, they began to strike the plaintiffs themselves with fists, flashlights, and even shot pepper spray. 

 

After this they allegedly prosecuted the plaintiffs, manufacturing various elements to deprive the life and liberty of the plaintiffs.  The complaint brought forth after this prosecution of the plaintiffs took place had several counts against the three officers: violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment, excessive force, unlawful seizure, malicious prosecution, and gross negligence.  They also had a count against the City of Pontiac regarding their training policies.  This is the complaint and these are the defendant's answer to the complaint, basically denying just about everything "in the fashion and form stated".  They settled later in 2007 for a nice, tidy sum to the plaintiffs, as seen in this settlement motion.

 

To alleviate Sailor of some of the blame we could point out that Officer Green had a record of questionable conduct himself, but unlike the next two federal cases, much of Officer Sailor's deposition of events was captured for posterity.  Here he is in his own words, he is 'A', saying the plaintiffs were not a threat on p. 11:

Just in case that wasn't evident enough, he elaborates on p. 13:

Did he just admit to punching these unthreatening people, yes, as he did on p. 9:

And what about the flashlight in his hand at the time, p. 13, 14:

Was he aware enough to know that may have been excessive force being used on these people, p. 20:

and an interesting reference to the second federal case that had already started against him in the introductory pages:

Here's the full deposition of the court record, in case you feel I am cherry-picking:  Sailor Depo 2007

 

A quick recap:  Aaron Sailor, on the Pontiac police force for under three months, responds to a call, hits the complainants with fists and flashlights, even when he perceives them as non-threatening to himself and his fellow officers.  He then proceeds to help with a baseless prosecution of the plaintiffs to apparently help cover up the misdeeds he was part of.  Later on, to his credit, he admits his actions.  Four innocent victims of assault by Eugene Riley, became four innocent victims of malicious prosecution and assault and battery by Officer Aaron Sailor and his fellow officers.

Ludington Police Chief Congratulates Officer Sailor for his Heroic Behavior in the line of duty, shortly before his third federal court police brutality case is being settled.  Sheriff Kim Cole looks on. 

 

2006 All They Don't Need is a Miracle

 

Among the court records of this complaint, the most comprehensive account of what happened was a synthesis of the various court records and discovery items compiled by the court in deciding against summary judgment for the defendants which included Officer Sailor and Officer Dan Miracle of the Pontiac Police Department.  The plaintiff is Sean Leary.  Here is the courts compiled background:

 

"In the early morning hours of February 26, 2006, Defendants(Sailor and Miracle) arrested Plaintiff (Leary)for alleged trespass at a residence. It was some time after 2:00 a.m. that Plaintiff ended up at the residence after a night of alcohol consumption with a new acquaintance, Sarah Worley. Plaintiff met Ms. Worley earlier that evening at a bar after he and friends had attended a concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Ms. Worley, who was not the owner of the house but merely a house sitter, invited Plaintiff and a few of his friends to the house.

During the time that the group was at the house, Ms. Worley called the vacationing homeowners to notify them of the fact that she had guests at the house, which was unacceptable to the homeowners. They instructed her to have her guests leave their house. In addition to their instructions to her, they called upon another friend, Mark Cuthbert, to see to it that the unwanted guests left the house. Mr. Cuthbert arrived at the house, told Ms. Worley that if the guests did not leave, he would call the police. Every guest except Plaintiff and Ms. Worley left the house. They, instead of leaving, went up to the second floor bedroom where Plaintiff fell asleep. Mr. Cuthbert called the police for assistance in evicting any remaining guests from the home.

When the Defendants arrived at the around 4:30 a.m., Ms. Worley told them that the Plaintiff was upstairs in the bedroom. Defendant Sailor went upstairs alone and unsuccessfully attempted to wake Plaintiff with verbal commands, because Plaintiff’s sleep was deepened by alcohol consumption. Defendant Sailor began yelling and shaking the bed to awaken Plaintiff, which caused Defendant Miracle to join him to see if there was any trouble.   Because the verbal commands failed, the Defendants used physical means to awake the Plaintiff. They lifted him out of the bed by his arms to a standing position but Plaintiff reached for the covers to return to bed. Defendants pulled the comforter off of Plaintiff, in response Plaintiff grabbed the comforter back to cover himself (Dkt. # 25, Exhibit D, p. 65-66 & 69). Not during this time nor at any time during the interaction between the two parties did Plaintiff attempt to strike the Defendants or resist arrest, he apparently just wanted to be left alone to return to bed.

After a failed attempt at handcuffing Plaintiff, Defendants’ use of force increased to include pressure on Plaintiff’s windpipe, striking Plaintiff on the legs with a police issued baton and hitting Plaintiff about the face with their fists. Plaintiff testified at his deposition that he awoke when the officers were on top of him striking him in the face with an instrument and cutting off his breath with a pillow. He indicated that after he was handcuffed they continued to hit him several more times though he did not know the exact number, including pushing him into a wall (Dkt. # 25, Exhibit A, pg. 113-116.). The Defendants then took the Plaintiff out of the house dressed in only his boxer underpants and shirt into the cold February air where Plaintiff slipped and fell on the ice.

The Defendants took Plaintiff to Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. Plaintiff sustained injuries as a result of the force used during the arrest, including a bloody nose and a fractured orbital bone (Dkt. #22, Ex G).

Ms. Worley, an eye witness to a portion of the arrest, observed the Defendants on top of Plaintiff in the bedroom (Dkt. #25, Ex B, pp. 21-24). Frightened by what she saw, she went downstairs to hide in a corner. The officers, after placing Plaintiff in the squad car, came back  for Ms. Worley. She tried to explain to them that she was waiting for a ride, but the Defendants did not listen to her plea, instead they handcuffed her and allegedly slammed her head onto the dryer. She too was taken outside into the cold, barefoot and in her pajamas. When she returned to the house the next day, she observed blood on the bed sheets where Plaintiff had been sleeping, a cracked coffee table and the bedroom in a state of disarray (Dkt. #25, Ex. B 32)."

 

The document, including legal analysis and conclusions that refute the defendant's defenses of qualified immunity, etc. is here.  Plaintiff alleged excessive force was used in violation of 42 U.S.C. §1983 along with state law claims of gross negligence and assault and battery for both officers.  A mediated settlement was reached between the parties with an undisclosed amount going to the plaintiff, as these documents show. 

 

According to this document, Aaron Sailor said in his deposition that: "Because Plaintiff did not respond to their commands to cease his resistance, defendants admits they began to punch Plaintiff with their fists. Sailor punched Plaintiff in the head and face, and used an asp to strike him twice on his leg." (p. 51-52). "Sailor  and Miracle say Plaintiff never attempted to punch, kick or otherwise attack them; his resistance was limited to pushing and pulling away to avoid being handcuffed. Defendants eventually overpowered Plaintiff. Sailor applied pressure to Plaintiff’s windpipe twice and, after a continued struggle, he and Miracle cuffed Plaintiff. Once cuffed, Miracle says Plaintiff did not continue to resist." (p. 84). 

 

A quick recap:  Officer Sailor and Miracle respond to a call by a third party, decide to evict the house sitter and her passed-out guest.  They proceed to aggressively assault a sleeping drunken person who was invited onto the property by the person responsible for the property, unlike the police.  Punching, choking, striking with nightsticks, throwing into walls, and leading the badly injured man out into the February night in his boxers.  They followed this up by arresting the house sitter, innocent of any crime (without ever calling the homeowner), allegedly slamming her head into an appliance, and leading her outside in her pajamas in handcuffs. 

 

2012 First Degree Burns

 

The narrative of this lawsuit is presented here with the original complaint and answer, and the successfully mediated settlement:  burns-v-sailor-ludington-citizens-get-burned-city-sails-on.  The City has went out of it's way to keep the citizens in the dark, and keep Officer Sailor under the protective wing of the City's Secret Keeping Division for as long as possible. 

A quick recap:  None of the facts are seriously contested by Sailor's defense, and the suit was settled rather quickly by the City's Risk Management Attorney, probably due to the fact that Ms. Burns was only seeking a relatively small amount compared to Sailor's prior settlements.  Sailor and another LPD officer, entered the plaintiff's sisters house without properly showing a warrant for someone they were fairly sure was there.  After this procedural blunder, Sailor pushed his way past the plaintiff, catching her unawares from behind, resulting in a fall that caused damage.  After the fact, he callously disregarded calls for active, legal warrants and emergency assistance for the plaintiffs.

 

Diagnosis:  Acting Like a Drunken Sailor

 

Three incidents of excessive force, police brutality, violating the all too important Fourth Amendment rights of the victims each time by a police officer acting in concert with other officers.  Three times where an errant assailer inflicted damage to citizens that, in each case, were innocent of any crime.  Whether it be Shelly Jo Burns, Mikel Postell, Angelo Postell, Shawn Postell, Marcus Price, Sean Leary, or Sarah Worley, Officer Sailor has participated in the punching, striking with a flashlight, striking with a nightstick, aggressively shoving into a wall or to the floor, choking, or beaten in the face with an instrument.  Seven citizens of Ludington and Pontiac, innocent of any crime, real or prosecuted maliciously, have suffered damage from a person who is supposed to serve and protect the innocent.

At the 4-22-2013 Ludington City Council meeting, I pointed out the record that both the Mayor, the City Manager, and the Police Chief (all present) should have been well aware of by now.  The City Manager and Police Chief wisely did not contest my abbreviated-for-time assertions, but sadly, the jaded twelve year Mayor John Henderson, the only one elected by the people, placed the blame squarely on the citizens' back:

 

"Earlier we had a citizen stand up in public comment and really, in my opinion, poorly address one of our officers... and Mark (LPD Chief Barnett) I know that you'll hear about that.

Officer Sailor has done a wonderful job for us.  These type of things come up and go down, and the particulars of this lawsuit we can deal with in a future thing but the accusations of that and the carrying on is... I don't think is fair for him, it's a poor characteristic of him; it's not right, he's not here to defend himself."

As stated before, I offer Officer Sailor and Police Chief Barnett the choice of a public forum at a City Council meeting wherein I will address even more of the concerns that are found in these court papers and others.  I don't think my challenge to them will be accepted, however, because evil generally hides in the shadows, ready at any time to attack the good people of our community in an uncivilized manner, and look the other way when it happens. 

 

As a firefighter of eight years who served the community positively, I can find no use to the community for someone like Officer Sailor who has failed the public so dramatically three separate times, and the idea that other police officers and firefighters that sat in that chamber (Mayor Henderson, Councilors Wally Taranko, Nick Tykoski, Gary Castonia, LPD Chief Mark Barnett, and LFD Chief Jerry Funk) can tolerate such unseemly behavior is a sign of the utter disregard this current local government has for the community, and what narcissism they possess about themselves.

 

 

[XLFD]

Finishing just behind that none guy is always a goal of mine.  Thanks, Albino, for your own vigillance on all levels.

[AQUAMAN]

Very telling and revealing article X. Imagine beating and choking to death almost, a passed out man in bed to make an arrest. And look at the EyEs of Sailor in his pinup poster on file, eyes of a man that loves people? What naysayers like Hulk do we still have now I ask?

[AQUAMAN]

No EyE, I'm just referring to Sailor's eyes, not friendly. Old habits die hard sometimes, sorry....lol. Actually, since you singled me out, let's hear your version of how you recently got converted to a positive Torchie. I like the new EyE, thanks, and keep up the good work.

[XLFD]

Almost everyone around the town can become a 'positive Torchie' just by paying attention to the facts of the matter.  There is no one set way of thinking around the Ludington Torch, we have set up some guidelines at our inception, try to live up to them, and everyone can get their say here, even if it's not a popular view, as long as they abide by the forgiving 'terms of service' which basically goes by the Almost Golden Rule:  "Do unto the Ludington Torch, as you would want the Ludington Torch to do unto you." 

Meaning simply, if you want your viewpoint on a topic to be taken seriously, then take your fellow Torch member's clearly-erroneous-opinion seriously too-- while you set his addle-pated mind back on track for the good of humanity with your sharp wit. 

As for EyE, he/she may set me correct, but I think EyE had some revelation that had him adjust his opinion towards the Ludington Torch positively and/or its detractors negatively.  I have had a few people contact me and note how I and the website have been portrayed very negatively by some highly regarded people of the community behind the scenes.  That's understandable; unlike other outlets of information, we are not generally beholden to these people.