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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who was shot and wounded by police filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging the officer and jail staff left him wounded and bleeding in a cell.
Timothy James Peterson, 33, is seeking unspecified damages and legal fees in the suit filed in U.S. District Court. Peterson was shot in July 2014 by West Jordan police officer Ian Adams, who was responding to reports that Peterson had violated a protective order and had threatened online to either shoot officers or attempt "suicide by cop."
Adams, who had been provided a photo of Peterson and reports of his threats, spotted Peterson in an Office Max parking lot near 7037 S. Plaza Center Dr. (3800 West). When the officer approached, Peterson ran, tossing a grocery sack and an object later discovered to be a large knife, according to investigators.
With the officer in pursuit, Adams said Peterson turned and pulled out what looked like a gun, a piece of metal that Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said was bent to look like a firearm. Adams fired 10 shots, according to the lawsuit, striking Peterson multiple times.
The shooting was later ruled to be legally justified and Peterson was charged with assault against a police officer, a second-degree felony. While a jury eventually found Peterson not guilty, he remained in jail for 19 months awaiting a resolution in the case, unable to afford bail, the lawsuit says.
Prosecutors also filed but later dropped misdemeanor charges of unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon and failure to stop at the command of law enforcement.
At trial, Peterson's attorneys played footage from Adams' body camera and argued that their client never pointed anything at the officer. The jury acquitted Peterson after two hours of deliberation.
After Peterson was shot, the lawsuit claims Adams did not offer medical assistance but instead kept his gun trained on the wounded man. Upon arriving at the Salt Lake County Jail, Peterson claims he was left unattended in a holding cell for more than 10 hours, all the while "bleeding profusely on the floor" and requesting medical attention.
According to the lawsuit, a nurse eventually came to Peterson's cell and said he needed his bandages changed, to which a guard replied with an expletive and said, "I don't care."
Peterson was treated for several days at an area hospital before being booked into jail.
For the first one to two weeks in jail, Peterson was housed on the second floor of the jail, requiring him to crawl to get meals and medication, and was not provided with crutches, the lawsuit says, calling jail officials "deliberately indifferent."
Peterson claims he was treated poorly by jail guards because he was accused of assaulting an officer. The lawsuit alleges guards frequently and unnecessarily strip searched Peterson, forced him to stand for extended periods despite a broken hip, and confiscated his pain medication.
The lawsuit names Adams as a defendant for shooting him, along with West Jordan Police Chief Doug Diamond, Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder and 20 unnamed city employees and jail staff. Also named are the city of West Jordan, Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County.
