CARROLLTON - After a four-month internal affairs investigation, Michael Martin, the interim police chief, fired a veteran officer for using excessive force against a DUI suspect.
Jason Geils, who claimed to have suffered a concussion and other injuries at the hands of Officer Don Patin, said he now feels vindicated.
"It was kind of redemption for everything that I've been through so far to know that at least they found him guilty of doing something wrong," Geils said.
When News 8 first interviewed him last December he had a black eye and bruised legs.
Days earlier, Patin pulled Geils over for speeding. Once stopped, Patin suspected Geils was drunk and arrested him.
But, what the policeman did to the DUI suspect inside Carrollton's police station violated department policy.
"All I know is that my feet were above my head and they threw me down as hard as they could, head first," Geils recalled.
Carrollton police turned the evidence over to the Texas Rangers to determine whether Patin should face any criminal charges.
"The professional conduct of our employees remains our highest priority," Martin said in a statement to News 8. "We have a long history of trust ... with our community and we continue to maintain our commitment to provide equitable and professional services to the citizens we serve".
Patin is appealing the department's decision to fire him.
Carrollton said a blood test did reveal Geils was legally drunk. However, his attorney, Scott Palmer, said four months after the arrest, no such DUI case against Geils seems to exist in the courts.
"Even if it was filed it would most likely be dismissed because of Officer Patin's firing," Palmer said. "They're not going to try to prove a case with an officer who has been disciplined to this degree."
Geils wants Carrollton to pay his medical bills and relinquish the surveillance video that captured the in-custody injury.
He and Palmer said they were also considering filing a federal lawsuit against the department for civil rights violations.
E-mail: jwhitely@wfaa.com
