A Chanhassen man and disabled U.S. Navy veteran, David Techam, 68, claims he was accosted by a Carver County Sheriff’s deputy while emergency personnel were responding to the fire, and now he said he’s considering legal action against the Sheriff’s Office. He brought his concerns to the Chanhassen City Council last Monday.
This week he filed complaints with both the city of Chanhassen and the Carver County Sheriff’s Office.
To the Sheriff’s Office, he wrote of the incident: “I was talking to [a] fireman and a cop came up behind me and hit me with something on my left shoulder and then pushed me down on the ground and then hit me on my left forearm and right hand.”
To the city of Chanhassen, he wrote simply: “police brutality.”
Techam also alleges that on the same night, during the same incident, somebody stole a gold coin valued at $5,000 from a collection of rare coins he keeps in his home.
There is an ongoing investigation into these incidents.
Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said his office received the complaint from Techam alleging police brutality on Monday of this week and would look into his claims. Chanhassen Assistant City Manager Laurie Hokkanen said she had forwarded Techam’s complaint to the city to the Carver County Sheriff’s Office to be included in their investigation.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is looking into the alleged theft, due to a potential conflict of interest, said Olson. Hennepin County has made no comment.
Police reports from the incident have been forwarded to the city of Chanhassen’s legal team, but according to the city’s attorney, Roger Knutson, it has not been reviewed yet, and no decisions have been made.
FIRE CALL AND AFTERMATH
The fire call on Aug. 19 to Carver County dispatch came at 11:48 p.m. from a resident living within three city blocks of Techam’s home on Redwing Lane. The Chanhassen Fire Department and Carver County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the scene. The first deputy arrived at 11:52 p.m.
Techam still claims the fire was small enough that he could have put it out by himself.
Chanhassen Fire Chief John Wolff said a cause for the fire and where it started have not yet been determined, although he confirmed the fire extended into the insulation. It was between a cinderblock structure under construction inside the renovation and the cinderblock foundation of the renovated area.
Techam claims when firefighters arrived at his home and approached the 600-square-foot structure in his back yard he tried to encourage them to enter the building through a side door to get at the fire, rather than break through a large 5-foot-by-7-foot window.
It was to no avail, and Techam claims at this time he was accosted by a deputy.
Chief Wolff explained that it’s standard procedure for firefighters to break windows when battling fires. He said this is done to minimize the risk to firefighters and remove smoke and other products of combustion. Firefighters refer to this as “ventilation.”
“We needed to dismantle a portion of the cinderblock structure to ensure the fire was completely out,” Wolff said.
He called the procedure “normal for a structure fire like this.”
Techam said he doesn’t hold it against the Fire Department for breaking his windows, but he claims getting manhandled aggravated a long-running injury to his left shoulder, originally incurred during years of construction labor. He further alleges the deputy broke his right foot and caused him to sustain a rib injury.
“I am probably going to lose my left arm because of the cops pushing my arm where it didn’t belong,” he said.
That night Techam was driven to the Veteran’s Hospital in Minneapolis to receive treatment in the emergency room, still wearing his bath robe that was full of mud because he got pushed to the ground, he said.
Techam said when he finally got home he saw muddy footprints leading across his carpeting to his collection of rare coins, one of which he claims is now missing.
HISTORY
Since 2008, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office has responded to 14 calls for service at the residence, most of them medical. However, in March of 2008, Techam was charged with a misdemeanor for harassment using mail/letter/telegram/package. He was placed on probation for two years and ordered to refrain from coming into contact with an employee at city hall, with whom Techam had a disagreement.
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