Driver Found Guilty Of Obstruction In Controversial Case Pend Oreille County Defendant Claimed He Was A Victim Of Police Brutality

Pend Oreille County resident Morris Bereiter has been convicted of obstructing an officer but acquitted of resisting arrest in a case that became a cause celebre for government critics who say laws are being enforced too aggressively.

Bereiter claimed he was a victim of police brutality when Deputy Greg Rogan pepper-sprayed him and wrestled him to the ground during a traffic stop, but a six-person District Court jury found Bereiter at fault for refusing to obey orders to stay put and remove his hands from his pockets.

The jury of four women and two men took two hours and 20 minutes to convict Bereiter. Visiting Judge Lynda Eaton of Ferry County didn’t set a sentencing date when the verdict came in shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday. Bereiter could get up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine for the gross misdemeanor, but typically sentences are much lighter.

“I think this does vindicate Deputy Rogan and shows that the defendant’s behavior led to this situation,” Deputy Prosecutor Mike Carbone said. “I would hope it sends a message to other people that if you’re stopped in a routine traffic stop … and if you don’t cooperate, you’re putting yourself and possibly others in danger, and you’re going to be held accountable for it.”

Bereiter’s case became a poster child for a loose coalition of right-leaning government critics, and it led to a rift between Republican Sheriff Jerry Weeks and Republican County Commissioner Mike Hanson. A longtime friend of Bereiter’s and a fellow religious conservative, Hanson said earlier this year that he questioned the truthfulness of the Sheriff’s Office reports on Bereiter’s arrest.

Hanson called for a “strong investigation” into Bereiter’s allegations of police misconduct, and suggested Bereiter might win a lawsuit against the county.

Bereiter also was supported by the Idaho Observer, a far-right publication in Rathdrum that Hanson publicly praised.

The dispute came to a head in April when county commissioners gave an audience to Bereiter and 10 others accusing the Sheriff’s Office of everything from overzealous law enforcement to unsubstantiated claims of rape and drug use. The critics included Don Harkins, editor of the Idaho Observer, as well as a man who had been charged with cruelty to horses and a man who objected to enforcement of dog laws in Newport.

Angry that commissioners didn’t challenge the “outrageous lies,” Sheriff Jerry Weeks brought about 70 of his supporters to lambaste the commissioners at their next meeting.

Bereiter’s trouble began about 5:30 p.m. Jan. 1, 1999, when Bereiter and two young sons were on their way home after working on a roofing project. Bereiter said there were no other cars when he ignored a stop sign to avoid getting his Chevrolet Suburban stuck at an icy crossing on U.S. Highway 2 near Newport.

Rogan said a driver ahead of him on Highway 2 had to apply his brakes to avoid hitting Bereiter’s vehicle, so he turned on his emergency lights and pursued Bereiter up Grey Road. Rogan said he had to turn on his siren to get Bereiter to pull over, and that Bereiter took off again and drove a short distance before stopping a second time.

Defense attorney Robert Critchlow, whom Bereiter hired after representing himself for months, said Bereiter was just trying to find a safe place to stop. But Carbone said Rogan was concerned about the erratic driving. After Bereiter stopped the second time, he got out of his vehicle and rapidly approached Rogan’s patrol car with his right hand in his pocket, Carbone said.

Rogan got out of his car, drew his pistol and ordered Bereiter to stop, Carbone told the jury in opening statements when Bereiter’s trial got started Tuesday. Carbone said Bereiter briefly kept coming, then refused to stay on the ground and keep his hands out of his pockets as ordered.

At that point, Rogan pepper-sprayed Bereiter, and Bereiter ran back to his Suburban and began reaching for something inside the vehicle, Carbone said. Rogan pulled Bereiter away from the vehicle and forced him to the ground, where they wrestled until Sgt. Thad Schultz arrived to help subdue Bereiter.

The officers later found a hammer and a lug wrench in the Suburban and a utility knife in Bereiter’s pocket.

Critchlow said Bereiter initially approached Rogan’s patrol car “to find out what’s taking this officer so long.” Bereiter was eager to “get his ticket and go on” or talk his way out of a ticket if he could, Critchlow said.

He said Bereiter was reaching into his front pocket for his wallet, was blinded by the flashing lights and was surprised to find himself looking down the barrel of a gun when he got close. Bereiter kneeled as ordered, but got up when a pebble injured his knee, Critchlow said.

Bereiter kept his hands in the air but refused to get back on the ground, Critchlow said: “He said, `Do what you’ve got to do; shoot me if you need to.”’ After Bereiter was pepper-sprayed, he just tried to protect himself, Critchlow said.