Without announcing themselves as police officers, a group of Boise cops stormed up to Gerald Amidon’s house on Valentine’s Day and demanded to be let inside.
When Amidon refused to open the door, they started shouldering their way inside, but Amidon was holding it shut, thinking it was a man who was going to beat him up at the bequest of his girlfriend’s friend.
At one point, Amidon even yelled out – “call the cops!” – as he was struggling to keep the door shut, according to a tape recording from the police officers.
That same recording also confirms that the officers never announced themselves. And then there is that other tape recording that the officers erased.
But the recording that did not get erased is damaging enough.
Especially that part where at least two officer sit on top of a handcuffed Amidon him while one officer sticks a Taser up his ass, firing it, leaving burn marks on the inside of his right butt cheek two weeks later.
Amidon – who made national news from this blog post on the earlier incident – is seeking nothing less than a half-million dollars in damages from the Notice of Claim he filed last month.
While the original report from a police ombudsman didn’t get much more than a recommendation for higher training, perhaps the Notice of Claim might do some heavier damage.
He is, after all, asking for a half-million dollars plus lawyer expenses and court costs.
The officers were responding to a call of domestic violence, but neither Amidon or his girlfriend Laura Bryson had called the cops. It was most likely Bryson’s friend.
In fact, the entire issue of domestic violence on this night doesn’t have Amidon laying a single finger on her. It was just a temper tantrum he thew.
That morning, the two were eating an early breakfast and discussing how they would celebrate Valentine’s Day later that night.
Later that day, Amidon went to her house while she went somewhere else and saw that somebody had else had sent her roses.
So he went into a jealous rage and started tearing up her room, then left in a huff.
Later that night, his anger had calmed down, and he went back the house and apologized. Then asked if he could clean up the mess he left in her room.
He and Bryson began arguing on the front porch. And at this point, one of her friends, Crystal, was threatening to bring over some “big guy” to beat up Amidon. She was most likely called the cops.
In fact, as he and Byson continued arguing, they thought they saw Crystal’s car pull up with the big guy who was supposedly going kick his ass.
So when the cops stormed up minutes later, Amidon figured this was the guy meant to hurt him and refused to open the door.
He even shouted – “call the cops!” – to his girlfriend as he struggled with the door, but the cops had already been called.
They were the ones conducting the home invasion.
