Madeline Island business owner to receive $300,000 in arrest lawsuit
The town offered the payout in lieu of a trial that had been set for October. The judgment was formally entered in
"We feel this is a significant victory for us," said
Nelson, 62, alleged that his arrest was unlawful and that Police Chief
The suit named the town of La Pointe, Defoe,
An attorney representing the town and the officials could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
According to the suit, the Nelsons are "first cousins who have been directly involved in an ongoing Nelson family feud for many years, and they have disliked and distrusted each other for nearly 20 years."
The
Defoe drove to
The video shows the door opening and Defoe saying, "Hey, Tom." Nelson responds by pointing at Defoe and yelling, "Get off my property! Go get a warrant! Get out of here! Stay out!"
The video showed Nelson backing up slightly and Defoe reaching across the threshold in an attempt to handcuff Nelson. When Nelson further retreated, Defoe entered the home and deployed his Taser on Nelson.
Defoe deployed his Taser three times, according to the complaint, before Nelson fell down at the doorway and was handcuffed.
The lawsuit stated that the incident was witnessed by Nelson's wife and children, ages 3 and 7.
Nelson was taken to the
The lawsuit alleged that Nelson's arrest violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, and was critical of the policies of Defoe, who took over as chief earlier that summer.
Stoddard said he felt confident that a message was sent through the lawsuit.
"I think this whole process has been a learning experience for the town and the officials involved," he said. "And the fact that the town offered this judgment at this point in the case indicates that everyone has learned quite a bit about what went wrong that day."
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