When two Los Angeles police officers refused to leave his apartment during a welfare check, Slade Douglas felt he had no choice but to call 911.<\/p>\n
The August 27, 2019, encounter began after someone from the Department of Veterans Affairs incorrectly reported to authorities that Douglas may be suicidal, according to a lawsuit he later filed against the city and the two officers who responded to his door.<\/p>\n
Douglas told police there had been a misunderstanding and that he wasn\u2019t a danger to himself or others. But instead of leaving, the officers insisted on taking him into custody for his own safety under California\u2019s Welfare and Institutions Code, known as a 5150 hold. <\/p>\n
They put him in handcuffs and took him to a hospital. What followed, he said, was a nightmare of forced sedation, drug testing and the increasingly desperate attempts by the officers to justify his detainment.<\/p>\n
Douglas sued, claiming that the incident violated his constitutional rights \u2014 and a jury agreed with him, awarding $6.8 million in damages after a civil trial that ended earlier this month.<\/p>\n
A U.S. Army veteran and former college football player, Douglas, 49, said he felt he had no choice but to take the city to court to \u201censure that this doesn\u2019t happen to another person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no basis for this forced treatment. Mr. Douglas was not a danger to himself or others, and he was not on drugs, nor has he ever used illegal drugs,\u201d Douglas\u2019 lawsuit read.<\/p>\n
Emails seeking comment from the LAPD and the city attorney\u2019s office were not immediately returned Monday.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Times, Douglas said the helplessness and humiliation he felt at being detained still leaves him angry.<\/p>\n
Douglas had been on the phone earlier with a representative from the VA\u2019s assistance hotline to make a complaint about discrimination he said he was facing. But the conversation went sideways and eventually he hung up in frustration. <\/p>\n
The VA worker called the LAPD and urged them to conduct a welfare check on him \u2014 even though the lawsuit says that he \u201cdid not have any intention to harm himself, nor did he express such a desire to the hotline operator.\u201d<\/p>\n
When LAPD officers Jeffrey Yabana and Jeremy Wheeler showed up at his apartment, Douglas said he invited them in and explained that there had been a misunderstanding. Footage from the officers\u2019 body cameras \u2014 released as exhibits during the trial \u2014 captured what happened next: Douglas remains calm at the start of the encounter, but soon begins to question why the officers aren\u2019t leaving.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m about to put you in handcuffs, sir,\u201d Wheeler is heard saying.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you do that that\u2019s your choice,\u201d Douglas responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOK,\u201d Wheeler says. \u201cTurn around. Put your hands behind your back.\u201d <\/p>\n
Douglas said he tried to maintain his composure, but when he pulled out his cellphone and said was calling 911, the lawsuit contended, they responded by knocking it out of his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut down the damn phone!\u201d Wheeler can be heard saying on the body-camera footage.<\/p>\n
The officers proceeded to handcuff Douglas with his hands behind his back, ignoring his pleas that he suffered from spinal injuries, and took him to the hospital.<\/p>\n
Once there, Douglas said he overheard the officers discussing what to do with him, saying something to the effect of needing to \u201cfind something\u201d in his system to justify the arrest. At one point, medical staff inserted a catheter over his objections, he said.<\/p>\n
In court filings, the officers said they worried that Douglas might use his phone \u201cas a weapon.\u201d Wheeler acknowledged that Douglas appeared calm, but said it was his experience as a police officer that suicidal people will deny wanting to harm themselves to avoid being detained.<\/p>\n
Douglas said he feels somewhat vindicated by the jury\u2019s decision, and is eager to start putting the incident behind him. But he still has trouble sleeping, he said, sometimes snapping awake in the middle of the night, thinking about the ordeal. <\/p>\n
A former standout football player who won a national championship with Florida State, followed by a brief stint in the Army that ended with a medical discharge for PTSD, Douglas has shared his story in a documentary and on national programs like \u201cThe Tavis Smiley Show\u201d and said he is weighing a run for Congress.<\/p>\n
His lawsuit argued that the LAPD was ultimately responsible under what is known as a Monell claim, which can hold supervisors liable for the actions of lower-ranking officers if it can be proven that the behavior was part of a long-standing custom or practice. <\/p>\n
The jury award \u2014 which will likely be appealed and still needs approval from city leaders \u2014 adds pressure on LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell to address the costly payouts from police-related lawsuits each year. Because taxpayer money is used to cover the payouts, such lawsuits have come under increasing scrutiny given the city\u2019s financial problems.<\/p>\n