Kootenai County sheriff faces another legal claim over actions at Cd’A town hall

A man who was zip-tied after speaking out during a Coeur d’Alene town hall has accused Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris of violating his civil rights.

Gregg Johnson, a resident of Coeur d’Alene, filed a claim last month for more than $2 million in damages over his detainment at Coeur d’Alene High School in February. With the assistance of an unidentified security officer, Norris grabbed Johnson and escorted him out of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee’s town hall on Feb. 22. Norris pushed Johnson up against a wall, spread his legs and zip-tied his hands, according to the claim.

At the time, Johnson was sitting next to Teresa Borrenpohl, a former Democratic candidate for the Idaho Legislature. Neither of them knew each other, according to the claim.

Borrenpohl, who had jeered at the emcee on stage, was confronted by Norris and then dragged by her hands out of the auditorium by unidentified men in plain clothes. She continued to scream and ask who the men were and why she was being detained, video from the event shows.

After the incident made national news, Borrenpohl filed a claim against Norris alleging he violated her constitutional rights. The men in plain clothes were later identified as security guards for Lear Asset Management, a California-based company. The guards face a jury trial in December on charges of battery and false imprisonment and have lost their license to operate within the city.

When Norris approached Borrenpohl in her seat that evening and continued to argue with her, he told Johnson to move. Johnson obliged, the claim states. But when the unidentified men came to drag Borrenpohl away, Johnson spoke up and shouted, “Hey, leave her alone!”

“It was alarming for him to see a woman physically removed by men not marked with security, in a rough and unprofessional manner with a crowd audibly agitated,” the claim says. “… (His) statement did not disturb the peace of anyone, nor did it interfere with a lawful arrest.”

After Johnson backed up further, Norris asked him if he wanted to go to jail. He grabbed him, escorted him outside the auditorium and zip-tied Johnson. At no point did he say Johnson was under arrest or being detained, according to the claim. Johnson believes he was targeted by Norris due to his defense of Borrenpohl.

“Sheriff Norris cannot remove citizens from a public Town Hall simply because he disagrees with their speech or he doesn’t like their words,” the claim states.

The sheriff’s office did not respond for comment. Johnson’s attorney also declined to comment.