BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON - A Boone County man lost his second shot at proving police officers used excessive force when they arrested him for faking a car crash.
Donald Martin claimed in a federal suit that Boone County officers Robert Heideman and Robert Heckle, as well as Walton Officer Roger Paul, hurt him during his 1991 arrest. He lost his claim initially, after a 1994 trial, but then got another chance after the case was overturned on appeal. His suit also included Boone County and the city of Walton.
After another trial, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory Wehrman has issued a final judgment in the case. He dismissed it Nov. 6, finding just as a jury did four years ago.
The arrest came in February, 1991, when, Mr. Martin and a friend, Michael Serra, decided to recreate a previous car accident that had taken place between the two of them. Initially, Mr. Serra, who was drunk at the time of the wreck, had promised to pay for the damages, so neither reported it to police or their insurance companies. But the repairs were more expensive than Mr. Serra expected, so the two men decided to stage the wreck. After it, they planned to call police and file a claim for the previous damage. But police responded and figured their scheme out.
Mr. Martin clung to a speed-limit sign to avoid being arrested. Officers freed him but that started a confrontation that caused him and one of the officers to fall into a guard rail and into gravel along the roadway.
Mr. Martin and Mr. Serra were both convicted of filing a false report.
