Taser use on men in 2003 ruled justified

A judge decided Friday that Spokane police did not use excessive force when they used Tasers on two men 11 times during a November 2003 arrest.

The two men, Jonathan M. Passmore, 30, and Jeremiah D. Kohr, 25, had asked Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno to order the city to pay $10,000 for each of the 11 Taser uses.

But Moreno said the officers’ use of force was justified and that she had to decide whether Passmore’s and Kohr’s testimony was more credible than that of the police officers.

“I know that Mr. Passmore and Mr. Kohr had been drinking that night, as far as I’m concerned, a lot,” Moreno said, noting that each had at least two Long Island iced teas, the contents of which Moreno was “vaguely familiar.”

“There’s no real doubt in my mind that they were intoxicated,” she said.

The claims stem from the early hours of Nov. 10, 2003, when Passmore and Kohr had been suspected of slashing tires at the Top Hat Tavern on North Division.

When officers arrived at Kohr’s home to arrest the men, Passmore resisted arrest, according to court records. Officers shot him multiple times with a Taser and also jabbed him with a night stick, which resulted in two cracked ribs and a collapsed lung.

Kohr mostly stayed to the sidelines during the scuffle but approached and yelled at officers when they pushed Passmore to the ground, according to court records.

Officers took this as a threat to their safety and used a Taser on Kohr, as well.

“The use of force was reasonable,” Moreno said.