A Platte County man won a judgment from a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper who arrested him and then assaulted him, according to an order issued last week by a federal judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson issued the order on Sept. 24 that made final a $15,000 payment from Trooper Justin Minard to Layne Weber.

"From our client's perspective, it was a good result because it was an acknowledgment there had been a wrong committed against him," said Weber's attorney John Robinson of Casper. Attorney Don Fuller of Casper also represented Weber.

The Wyoming Attorney General's office defends lawsuits filed against state government agencies.

Attorney General Bruce Salzburg said Minard made the offer according to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, but declined further comment on the case, which began with a traffic stop early on Nov. 12, 2005.

Minard pulled over Weber on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the complaint filed on Nov. 6, 2006.

Minard directed Weber to perform field sobriety maneuvers and then arrested him.

"After cuffing Weber's hands behind his back, Minard took Weber to the ground, sprayed pepper spray into Weber's eyes and then smashed Weber in the face with a club," according to the complaint. "Minard's deadly assault of a defenseless Weber was objectively unreasonable and excessive."

Minard called for an ambulance, which took Weber to a medical facility for treatment.

The trooper never apologized, according to the complaint.

Instead, Weber was charged with felony assault of a peace officer, but the Platte County Circuit Court dismissed that charge, according to the complaint.

Weber sued Minard and Wyoming Highway Patrol Lt. Ted Bair, Capt. Willie Price and Col. Samuel Powell for assault and battery, negligence, and violating his Fourth Amendment rights prohibiting excessive force.

He also claimed Minard was not adequately supervised.

Before this incident, Bair, Price and Powell were aware of other incidents in which Minard had been accused of using similar force with those accused of crimes, according to the complaint.

The court later dismissed Bair, Price and Powell from the lawsuit, Robinson said.

In Minard's response to the lawsuit, lawyers with the Wyoming Attorney General's office admitted Minard handcuffed Weber, put him on the ground and used pepper spray.

Minard's attorneys denied he used excessive force and denied violating Weber's Fourth Amendment rights, according to their answer.

Minard stated Weber was noncompliant and tried to put up a struggle to stay on his feet, according to a document filed June 4.

"Trooper Minard had already attempted to gain the Plaintiff's compliance by being nice. He had tried to gain compliance by forceful commands, leverage techniques, taking the Plaintiff to the ground and pepper spraying him. Even after being pepper sprayed, the Plaintiff continued to physically resist the trooper trying to arrest him," according to the court document.

In June, Minard offered the judgment to settle Weber's claims for $15,000.

"It's technically not a settlement, it's a judgment," Salzburg said.

The offer was OK with Weber, Robinson said.

"They got to a point in the case where they offered the judgment, we told the client and he accepted it," he said.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@casperstartribune.net.