WEST VALLEY CITY — Two people who were arrested by former drug officers with the West Valley Police Department have filed a civil complaint against the city, even though their criminal cases were dismissed.

In the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, Brandy and Terry Christiansen claim West Valley City and police officers Steven Beardshall, Barbara Lund, Kevin Salmon, Sean McCarthy, former Lt. John Coyle, and former Chief Thayle "Buzz" Nielsen violated the couple's civil rights.

On Oct. 26, 2012, members of the department's now-disbanded Neighborhood Narcotics Unit entered the Christiansens' residence and used excessive force when Terry Christiansen's head was "slammed" into a wall, cutting it open, the lawsuit states.

"Terry also had his teeth knocked loose and sustained bruises all over his body," according to the complaint.

Christiansen claims he also lost consciousness after being put in a chokehold. Brandy Christiansen claims in the suit that she was illegally searched by a male officer who put his hand down her pants to search for drugs.

Terry Christiansen, 41, spent six months in jail. Brandy Christiansen spent five days in jail but no charges were filed against her.

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Terry Christiansen was charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated assault and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person in addition to drug possession, after prosecutors say he got into a fight with the officers trying to arrest him and cut one of the officers with a knife. The officer sustained minor injuries.

According to the charges, Christiansen ran away from the officers in an attempt to flush a vial of meth down the toilet, although he was told several times to stop. He then allegedly started swinging at an officer with a knife.

But following the fatal shooting of Danielle Willard, 21, by West Valley police during a botched undercover drug operation in November of 2012, numerous incidents of inappropriate behavior by officers were discovered. The narcotics unit was disbanded and the entire department soon came under intense scrutiny from outside agencies and the public. More than 120 state and federal cases that officers in the unit had investigated were eventually thrown out of court because prosecutors determined the cases were tainted with credibility problems.

"West Valley City admits to rampant corruption and systemic constitutional violations by its officers, including mishandling of evidence, confiscation of drugs for personal benefit, theft of seized property, illegal use of GPS tracking systems, improper use of confidential drug informants and commission of perjury," Christiansen's lawsuit states.

Terry Christiansen's criminal case was one of those that was dismissed. He is now being represented by Jon D. Williams, and also by Mark Geragos, the attorney for Willard's parents. Geragos, who is based in Los Angeles, has represented such high-profile clients as Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder and Scott Peterson.

Former officer Shaun Cowley, one of the officers who shot Willard and has since been fired, is not named in Christiansen's suit.

In the suit, Christiansen claims that Coyle, the former head of the narcotics unit, "not only tolerated known wrongdoings by officers within his unit, but he also actively participated in the rampant corruption."

"The pervasive and rampant misconduct engaged in by West Valley police officers, and particularly the Narcotics Unit, are evidence of the city's deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of the citizens of West Valley."

In October, Cowley and his attorney, Lindsay Jarvis, filed a scathing 41-page letter with the West Valley Civil Service Commission. In it, Cowley claimed he was instructed by the unit to use the "unwritten rules of operation … including undercover investigations, the use of informants and methods of surveillance."

Cowley will having a hearing with the service commission later this year in an attempt to be reinstated.

Last June, Willard's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against West Valley City and 14 officers.

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