Spokane7
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January 27, 2011 in City
Sheriff’s detective cleared of using excessive force
Past complaints against Welton barred at trial
A jury Wednesday exonerated a Spokane County sheriff’s detective who has been the subject of several excessive force complaints.
The jury found unanimously for Spokane County in a case that began with a traffic stop on Jan. 22, 2006, by Jeff Welton, who was a deputy at the time.
Daniel B. Strange, 41, filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against the county alleging that Welton used excessive force.
“Obviously, we believe they made the right decision,” said attorney Heather Yakely, who represented Spokane County.
But Mary Schultz, representing Strange, said she was frustrated that she was not allowed to present more evidence to the jury.
“The bottom line is, it’s difficult to prevail at trial when the judge is defending the county,” Schultz said. “We tried to do what we could for the community, but this was the result.”
Schultz said she was barred from presenting evidence about other excessive force complaints against Welton at the same time Yakely was allowed to present never-before-seen evidence from an incident that occurred five years ago.
“This to me was stunning,” Schultz said. “My main frustration is that we had to operate under restrictions that were exceptional.”
Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza said he understands and that criticism of his rulings “comes with the territory. It’s a fact of life that when people walk out of the courtroom, some people are going to be unhappy.”
The incident began when Strange left a Spokane Valley bar at closing time with his wife, who was driving his car. Welton pulled her over, and Strange, from his passenger seat, questioned the purpose of the stop. Strange became angry when Welton slammed the car door shut. He stepped out of the vehicle.
Welton first aimed his pistol and later shot his Taser at Strange, who stands 6-foot-6, as he was getting back into the vehicle.
Schultz argued that Strange was complying, but Yakely said Welton is trained not to allow persons under arrest back into a car.
Schultz said she was never allowed to show the jury a report in the case by a paid expert who wrote that Welton was named in 13 of 42 excessive force complaints against his patrol division between 2001 and 2006.
But Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said he could only find five complaints against Welton and he did not believe any of those were substantiated.
“From my reading of the report, (Welton) followed procedure in dealing with a very large man … who was not cooperative,” Knezovich said.
Closing Geiger: Wise or worrisome? 
lewis8457 on January 27 at 7:52 a.m.
Past complaint barred at trial there it is, add to that our prosecutors do not prosecute cops and Welton walks free to hurt again. But Ozzie wants us to be sure we are safe from bombs as his panty squad kills or harms taxpayers.
I want some of what ever Ozzie is smoking.
cjkids02 on January 27 at 7:56 a.m.
What??? Where are all the cop haters…..come on! It shows the character of you posting “haters” when a cop does what you all “huff and puff” about and tazer’s someone instead of shooting them……and YOU STILL DONT SUPPORT THEM! LOL it shows the true motive behind most if not all of you. You just need something to complain about. Well, as for me, thanks for your service MR. Welton, and to his attorney, thank you for protecting the county tax payers money so this guy didnt get a free payout!
cjkids02 on January 27 at 8:00 a.m.
Lewis, hahahahahahaahahahahahah your a silly boy! The prosecutor does not decide what evidence gets into a court hearing, its the judge! Oh wait, Im sure your going to say the judge is corrupt as well, and siding with the police! But wait, judges are all lawyers, and most all lawyers have provided criminal defense at somepoint. So all defense attorneys are corrupt too, huh. Hey Lewis put the tinfoil on your head, they are reading your brain waves!
liarsinnews on January 27 at 8:27 a.m.
I don`t know anything about the instant case, but Judge Sam Cozza during the River Park Square controversy ruled on a law suit without reading or maybe covering up submitted evidence and the Spokesman Review refused to publish the facts of Cozza`s rendered decision. I`ll wager the Cowleses had a smile on their face over that one.
factor10 on January 27 at 7:02 p.m.
Very obvious in this case that the judge was not going to let the truth be presented. Knowing that he was going to control the case for the county from the outset, why did he not skip the charade and not waste three weeks of the jury’s time. Sad to think that anyone (much less a judge) would condone the carte blanche’ use of force from this particular officer, now promoted to detective. For all the good folks in law enforcement who do a great job, I feel sorry for you since the actions of Detective Welton reflect upon you all.
bstrange99 on January 27 at 9:16 p.m.
I am Daniel Strange. In response to assumptions being made—I did this because what happened to me could happen to anyone, whether you think so or not. I chose to bring my situation to the public—no matter what the verdict—so people would start to see what s happening. I wouldn’t be going through this for years if I didn’t think it would produce a better outcome for everyone. If you have questions about what came out in the trial, including policies that people don’t realize are going on with that department, or the training they don’t have on Tasers, I will answer it based on facts. This is not about liking or disliking police—it’s about being safe here. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll tell you ” I don’t know”.