Judge To Review Complaint Law Ostrander’s Complaint Alleges Officer Used Excessive Force And Caused Shoulder Injury

A Spokane District Court judge said he’ll review the law before deciding if a Davenport man can file a citizen’s complaint against a police officer he accuses of assault.

District Court Judge Daniel Maggs said Friday he’ll issue a written ruling within two weeks on the complaint of Christopher Ostrander, a 40-year-old vegetable farmer.

Ostrander’s complaint alleges Spokane police officer Tim Madsen used excessive force against him and caused severe shoulder injuries during a January 1997 arrest in Airway Heights.

Citizens’ complaints are a rarely used court procedure in Spokane County and most of the state. When prosecutors do not file charges, a citizen can ask a court to review a case and decide if a crime may have occurred.

Instead of oral arguments in Ostrander’s complaint, Maggs told lawyers on both sides he’ll issue a written ruling.

The night of the arrest, Ostrander and his family had just driven from a Spokane Valley neighborhood toward Airway Heights. Madsen and other officers had been watching a Valley house for suspected drug traffic. Police thought Ostrander had just come from that drug house.

Madsen pulled Ostrander over and asked for his driver’s license. Ostrander refused at first, saying he wasn’t certain Madsen was an officer. Madsen admits pulling Ostrander out of the van. During Ostrander’s trial this week on charges of resisting arrest, Madsen testified he feared Ostrander was reaching for a gun in a fanny pack.

Ostrander was found guilty of resisting arrest, obstructing a public official and refusing to obey a police officer.

Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser is not obligated to file charges against Madsen if the judge agrees there’s probable cause.

, DataTimes