I guess people read the news, see that OC is handing out checks if you bring them to court and try it themselves. The first guy I am sure got everything he deserved and the 2nd woman should get over herself. The police have a right to arrest you if they suspect you committed a crime. I don't think 3 hours in a police dept warrants you filing a lawsuit against them. Yes you were acquitted of the crime but that doesn't mean you are innocent and even if you are innocent, the incident doesnt warrant a payout to you and your family by the taxpayers.

if you don't want to get man handled by the Police, don't run. simple as that.

Yeah Mister B... Simple as that. If they run, release attack dogs, beat them, and drag them through the street. Good old-fashioned police work there, except because Ocean City has made every piece of land so valuable to build houses on the cops could not find a tree to hang this rotten miscreant.

I agree with you Newell138 and Mr. B, The first guy was running from the police down the alley trying not to get arrested.......thats resisting in my book. Both of these cases are just another example of criminals and bums not liking the fact that they got caught and now want some quick cash!! This is the new crime wave......instead breaking into our houses or selling drugs to our kids it's much easier to steal from the public in court..... Every time the cops arrest a bum or criminal and clean up the "trash" in this town they get sued. I for one hope they keep these bums in jail or out of our town like they have been doing for as long as I have lived here. The city should fight the lawsuites so this town doesnt become an A.C. where everyone sues because they know they will settle out of court.

Its becoming clearer why Ocean City has endured a 25% population decline over the last 10 years.

I doubt Petnick was out for his morning jog. He had jumped bail previously, was fleeing, and the function of a police dog is to stop him quickly and without endangering the public or police officers. The dogs don't stop people by licking them; they grab with their mouths (bite) until the officers arrive. If Petnick hadn't fled, the dog wouldn't have been released. It's not as though he lost a finger or now wets his pants when he sees a dog.

I don't feel the love; I feel manufactured excuses and made-up statistics to back heavy-handed police work. The legal system is in place to protect all of us against violations to our person.

The lawsuits might be frivolous, and you might feel that you know who should sue, and who should not have that right. In this country everybody has the right to the protections of the judicial system. I am not suggesting everyone who sues should win in court. I agree our country has gone sue crazy and treats law suits like lottery tickets (remember McDonald's hot coffee in the lap). However, if the case was as clear-cut as one comment referred, subsequently our local government should not settle out of court. It leads me to think there is more to the case then what has been released.

I agree that way too many law suits today are frivolous and without merrit. On the flip side of that coin, I've seen and heard some OC Police Officers with ego's and attitudes that are way over the top. There are some here who display a "god like", attitude, and that should be scrutinized by officials, and reined in.

I'm not feeling the love either. I also think that there may be more to this as it is no coincidence that there have been several lawsuits against the police all with the same theme. Let's see if they settle. This is a pandora's box of winning lottery tickets and I agree that the word is out that OC pays out! If there is a pattern of allegations with lawsuits against the police then perhaps there is more to it than a frivolous lawsuit. I guess we the taxpayers again have to pay for the folly of it all!

Yes, there are many frivolous law suits. Maybe if we adopted the European method of loser pays, we may get rid of many of them. I file a lawsuit, lawyer signs on for nothing, except a third or 40% of what they can get. City says, even if we win the lawsuit, will cost us 40-50k to go to trial. Offer them 20k. They take it. However, if they spend the 40-50 and win and the loser has to pay that 40-50, maybe they'd think twice about these ridiculous lawsuits. I mean, the guy is complaining the k9 dog took him down, forget lawsuit, give the dog a medal, it did exactly what it was supposed to do...And the bad detective yelled at me.. boo hoo...

Detective Steven Schaeffer ( Very interesting as to why he is named in the lawsuit )

I agree that the “the loser pays” would eliminate the frivolous lawsuits, but remember that most of the politicians making the laws are lawyers. What incentive is there for them to hurt their own profession? By the same token, I usually hear people take a harsh stand against the plaintiffs in these cases, until one day the police mistreat them. Oh how they change their tune then. I bet that most of the harsh comment makers would be crying like babies the first time a cop mistreats them.

If you deserved it then by definition you weren't mistreated, were you. Now if you were stopped for a infraction and the cops beat the shit out of you and unleashed a dog on you after you were in custody. Then you would have been mistreated.

Who exactly is posting on message boards under the disguise of anonymity? Oh, YOU, unless we are to believe your real (legal) name is Mr. B. We are not living in the city here, When was the last time a OC cop had to take a bullet in the line of duty. Or for that matter discharge his weapon. I don't know the answer to that question but I bet it hasn't been often, if ever. In my life there have been very few times I was in need of a cop and they were there to help. If they did help, I would thank them as I should, but that wouldn't provide an excuse for misconduct at a later time. I don't know the details of these complaints so I can't comment on them directly but we have more then one rouge cop in this town.

with all the comments about every subject here, a lot of back and forth and everyone is entitled to their opinion on every subject. but I will state, hopefully an OC cop NEVER takes a bullet in the line of duty, nor discharges his weapon. In addition, hopefully a firefighter is never lost either. maybe an officer is a little aggressive or not as nice, but I would never hope those things happen

Did he say he was wishing for it. NO. he was making a point that this area isn't very dangerous and police don't need to act like asses. A cop here has more chance of being struck by a asteroid while riding his bike then being killed in the line of duty. We all know that half the people on here are in fact OC police posting comments to defend themselves and make the public believe they are supported by many That's why they don't use their real names. We're getting sued because the cops are terrible here.

DID I say he said he wished for it, NO. You know the statistics for small town cops being shot in the line of duty ? Im sure that cop up in New Hampshire last week wished he got hit by an asteroid . The first lawsuit will be tossed as in the line of duty. The second, not sure, but if it was for getting yelled at or cuffed too hard. boo hoo.

You implied it. The point was that you or i have just as much chance of being shot as does the oc cop and the cops here are on power trips and most citizens know it Let's just say the next time a cops pulls you over, I hope you get OC first clas service but you probably are a cop.

Right on Chris M. And Johnny oc the only problem with the European way of handling law suits, if I understand you, is that our current system is already geared to the rich, and the European method seems to exacerbate that problem. Real court is not like TV; it costs big bucks to go to trial, and if you are poor, you sometimes have to plead guilty to something you did not do just to cut a deal with the prosecutor. It is not at all like the OJ Simpson trial. That is another reason I find settling out of court suspicious, because the town has deep pockets and can force appeal after appeal if the town lost and exhaust the funds of the person suing for damages. Many lawyers don't take cases for a percentage unless it is a sure thing.

Still only 5 comments on the young eagle scout...............?????????

Wyatt, I agree with you and the tactics but those tactics work best against an individual, ie extensive document production, and discovery demands. I would think OC would readily have all required documents and conversely can stretch out a personal liability case for years. On the other hand an ambulance chaser has a victim with injuries who might be more sympathetic to the jury (without a criminal record). Often these ambulance chaser cases settle for small amounts. Only the million dollar cases ever make it to the news and they are few and far between.

Work best against a defendant. In a contingent fee arrangement the plaintiff doesn't get worn down, he just stands aside and lets the lawyers duke it out. Discovery demands are most effective against organizations. Demands for huge stacks of copies of many documents going back years including those with only tangential relevance, such as personnel records of involved employees, as well as demands to take discovery form a lot of employees, maybe from the janitor on up are very daunting and compliance is very expensive. Often the first phone call by plaintiff counsel after one of these discovery demands is an offer to begin settlement discussions.

Wyatt it sounds like you must be a lawyer or criminal and in either case I defer to your expertise. However, I do not think that OC should just roll over every time a personal injury looms, if the cops are innocent then fight the case. The police reputation is already tarnished and to settle out of court intimates wrongdoing by the police.

At some point the city needs to grow a set of balls if they are not doing wrong. More likely they want the accuser to shut up and go away that's why they put non disclosure agreements on these settlements.

From the state DOC website, this is the man suing the city: https://www6.state.nj.us/DOC_Inmate/details?x=1403165&n=0