POLICE BRUTALITY CASE Jury grants $10,000 to Ayuyu

A jury on Friday awarded alleged victim of police brutality Ramon A. Ayuyu $10,000 in punitive damages and one dollar in actual damages, finding police officer Hillary Tagabuel liable for violation of his constitutional rights.

The defendant was also ordered to pay the plaintiff’s attorney fees and litigation costs following the trial on the $1 million damage suit in the U.S. District Court.

District Judge Alex R. Munson immediately issued a judgment to enforce the verdict returned by jurors that came less than a day after the case was closed.

But Mr. Tagabuel or the CNMI government was not accountable for the charges of brutality and coercion brought by Mr. Ayuyu claiming he was forced to confess to a theft crime that occurred three years ago.

Jurors only found the police officer violating Mr. Ayuyu’s rights under the 6th and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution to have a lawyer present as well as to be informed of the nature and case of the accusation against him when he was taken into custody for questioning by Mr. Tagabuel on Nov. 26, 1997.

Mr. Ayuyu, 22, alleged he was beaten up and had a gun pointed at his head by five police officers, including Mr. Tagabuel, when he was forced out of his house in Koblerville for questioning at the police station in Susupe regarding theft of $50 from a customer at Winchell’s two weeks earlier.

The Attorney General’s Office filed a criminal case against him in the Superior Court six months later, but was dismissed by a judge in 1999 after the AGO said a prime witness to the incident had left the island.

Steve Pixley, lawyer for the plaintiff, hailed the decision as a “big victory,” saying it sends a message that the court system protects individual rights of the people.

“We’re very happy,” he told in an interview Friday. “This is not about money. This is a vindication for this young kid whose civil rights were abused.”

Mr. Ayuyu’s family expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the trial, according to Mr. Pixley as he noted that he always believed in the plaintiff despite the defense contention that he was inconsistent in his account of the incident due to his mental disability.

Citing the criticisms from AGO, he also praised chief Public Defender Masood Karimipour for his handling of the criminal case of Mr. Ayuyu in the local court.

“This is a vindication as well for the Public Defender’s Office and it shows that Mr. Karimipour is perfectly within his responsibility” to defend those who have been accused of a crime and do not have the money to pay legal costs, he said.

Assistant Attorney General William Betz, who represented the government and Mr. Tagabuel in the federal court, said they may file an appeal against the decision before the end of this week.

He maintained Mr. Ayuyu waived his right when he was questioned by the police in 1997, but added the jury found he was incompetent to make his statement.

The police also was not found to have mishandled or coerced him to sign the confession and only that he didn’t have a lawyer with him, Mr. Betz said.

“We’re disappointed with the decision. Mr. Tagabuel felt that he treated the young man properly,” he told in a separate interview.

When asked if Mr. Ayuyu deserves the $10,000 award, Mr. Betz said “the plaintiff deserves sympathy, understanding and somebody to take care of him.”