8/3/2019 Peter Lance DUI-Series Part Two

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Roundaboutplan for 154 and246 gets mixed

reaction

Please see CALTRANS onA5

By CATHERINE SHENNEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Public response was mixedWednesday to a Caltrans proposal tobuild a roundabout at the intersectionof State Routes 246 and 154.

Residents from Solvang, Buelltonand Santa Ynez flocked to a Caltransinformational meeting at Solvangs

Veterans Memorial Hall to make suretheir concerns were heard.

A Santa Ynez Valley mother saidher son was involved in a car crash atthe intersection.

Its very hard to see your son in a carthat was T-boned, she said. Whetherits a roundabout or a traffic signal, I

just want something done sooner thanlater.

The purpose of the meeting was toeducate the public about round-abouts, to bring information and listento what the community has to say.

We want to show the public ourthought process, said Colin Jones,public information officer for CaltransDistrict Five. We understand this issomething new. There is some oppo-sition to it but we want to show themhow it could benefit the community.

If we didnt think it would makesafety improvements, we wouldnteven think about putting a roundaboutin, Mr. Jones said.

Panel heedsCoral

Casinomembers

complaints

Please see PLAN onA5

By KELLY HOOVERNEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

After hearing from outraged CoralCasino members and their attorneyWednesday, the Montecito PlanningCommission unanimously rejected acounty report that said the club isbeing operated in compliance with itscoastal development permit.

Commission members want moreinformation from Santa BarbaraCounty planning staff before movingforward.

I am concerned that given theamount of public scrutiny, ... that thereshouldnt have been a little more dueprocess and that your review shouldhave happened after public testimo-ny, Commissioner Michael Phillipssaid.

Derek Westen, attorney for mem-bers of the Coral Casino Beach andCabana Club, was thrilled with theoutcome.

We are extremely pleased that theplanning commission listened soclosely to the testimony of the mem-bers, he told the News-Press.

Coral Casino members say TyWarner Hotels and Resorts is notholding up its end of the bargain on anumber of issues, namely the numberof guests at the Four Seasons BiltmoreResort who are using the private clubfor free.

They also complain about the lack ofmeaningful consultation betweenCoral Casino members and Ty Warnerhotels.

The members hired local attorneyMr. Westen to put together their list ofcomplaints and what they say arepermit violations.

However, Santa Barbara County

Behind the Series

On the morning of New Years Day, investigative journal-ist Peter Lance was arrested on suspicion of drivingunder the influence by Office Kasi Beutel of the SantaBarbara Police Department. The case is pending. Afterfinding a number of misstatements of fact in the report

of the incident, Mr. Lance started looking into other arrests involv-ing the officer. The investigation, including interviews with others,resulted in this five-part series, which began June 22 and runsthrough Sunday.

For daily updates and links to documents used in the research forthis series, see newspress.com. For more on Mr. Lance, go topeterlance.com.

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Taste thisOLIVE OIL IS GETTING INTO THE ACT, WITHBRANDS OFFERED AT TASTINGS IN WHAT

ONCE WAS THE EXCLUSIVE DOMAIN OF WINE

STEVE MALONE / NEWS-PRESS

Huguette Clarks sprawling estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean will

be the permanent home to the late heiress extensive art collection.

Clark estate to become art museum

By MORGAN HOOVERNEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Santa Barbara propertybelonging to reluctant heiressHuguette M. Clark, who died lastmonth and left behind a $400 millionestate, will become a museum.

A copy of the last will and testa-ment of Ms. Clark, who died May 24 inNew York City at age 104, was filedWednesday in Surrogates Court. Itdirects executors, including SantaBarbara attorney James Hurley, to

form and serve as the initial board ofdirectors of a private foundation to becalled Bellosguardo Foundation named for the 24-acre Clark estate onCabrillo Boulevard as an educa-tional organization for the primarypurpose of fostering and promotingthe arts.

Filing the document was the NewYork City law firm Holland & Knight.

Ms. Clark, heiress to a copper,timber and railroad fortune built byher father, onetime Montana U.S.Sen. William A. Clark, lived at the

Santa Barbara property in her youth

but hadnt visited since 1963 whenher mother died.The Santa Barbara estate, over-

looking the Pacific on one side andthe Andree Clark Bird Refuge onanother, is a 21,000-square-footmansion.

Ms. Clark was known to be arecluse, withdrawing further fromsociety as time passed.

Her seven-page will, prepared andexecuted in 2005 when she was 98,states, I give, devise bequeath to saidBellosguardo Foundation, my realestate . . . at 1407 E. Cabrillo Blvd.,known as Bellosguardo and all of thepersonal property contained therein

Please see CLARK onA5

Will filed Wednesday reflects modesty,generosity and empathy, says attorney

The stun gun and the DUI stop

SANTA BARBARA POLICE PHOTO

RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS

Michael Kenny wears an ankle bracelet after pleading no contest to resisting arrest. Charges of DUI

and battery on Santa Barbara Police Officer Kasi Beutel were dropped for lack of evidence in the

August 2009 incident. Officer Kasi Beutel, shown here the night of Michael Kennys arrest in August2009, filed a workers compensation claim over shoulder injuries she said she suffered in the Kenny

arrest. But the official report of that nights incident states she was not injured.

Second of five parts

By PETER LANCESPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS

Michael Kenny is a commercialfisherman who dives for sea urchinsin the sometimes frigid waters off theChannel Islands. Its a dangerous

job, but nothing he ever encounteredat sea prepared him for the life-threatening event that occurred thenight Officer Kasi Beutel of the SantaBarbara Police Department pulledhim over for a traffic stop and endedup shooting him at point-blank rangewith a stun gun.

The arrest occurred in August 2009, the year Kasi Beutelwon the Gold Pin from Mothers

Against Drunk Driving for achievingthe top DUI arrest record in SantaBarbara County.

But the case raises serious ques-tions, not just about how far OfficerBeutel was willing to go in pursuit ofa DUI arrest, but the lengths to which

supervisors at the Santa BarbaraPolice Department went to protecther and validate her conduct.

Officer Beutels versionof the Kenny case

The following are verbatimexcerpts from the official report onthe incident submitted by OfficeBeutel: On 8/22/09 at approximately2125 Hours (9:25 p.m.) I was on uni-formed patrol . . . on Cliff Drive whenI observed a late model pick-up . . .driving Eastbound. The truck did nothave any rear lights, no tail lights orbrake lights . . . It was a dark area and

the truck, which is dark in color, wasdifficult to see. I pulled in behind thetruck which was traveling atapproximately 45 MPH . . .and thetruck quickly braked and made asharp right turn onto La MarinaStreet. I conducted a traffic stop on

La Marina just south of Cliff Dr.I contacted the driver who wassitting in the drivers seat. He hadone female passenger and a mediumsized dog in the vehicle. He identi-fied himself as Michael Kenny withhis California (drivers license). Iimmediately noticed a smell ofalcoholic intoxicant coming from hisperson; his eyes were bloodshot andwatery. I asked him if he had anyalcohol tonight, he stated no. I askedhim to look at me so that I could checkhis eyes, at which time he turned hishead away . . . I asked him to retrievehis registration and insurance and

told him that I would be right back.After returning to her patrol unit

and determining that Mr. Kenny hada DUI conviction six years earlier,Officer Beutel called for a coverofficer to assist her and shortlythereafter, Officer Gina Battaglia

arrived.At that point, by her own account,Officer Beutel returned to the driv-ers side of Mr. Kennys 1978 Fordtruck and asked him to step outsideso that she could perform a fieldsobriety test. Officer Battaglia wasstanding at the curb on the passengerside. Heather Vaughn, the youngwoman who had accompanied Mr.Kenny, was in the passenger seat.

As Officer Beutel continued in herreport: (Kenny) refused to step fromthe vehicle. I informed him that hewas being detained and that Ineeded him to step from the vehicle

in order for me to ascertain that hewas not too impaired by alcohol tosafely drive.

At this time he began rolling hiswindow up. I placed my hands on hiswindow to prevent the window frombeing rolled up and ordered Kennyto hand me his car keys. He refused. . . and continued to roll the windowup. With my left hand on the windowin an attempt to keep it down, Iplaced my Taser, which was in myright hand, against Kennys shoulderand informed him that he would beTased if he continued to resist. I alsoinformed him that he was subject tobeing arrested for delaying orobstructing an investigation.

In a separate report, Officer Batt-aglia says that after her arrival, shemoved from the passenger side of thetruck to the drivers side to assistBeutel.

(Beutel) was holding onto thewindow to keep Kenny from rollingthe window up and demanding that

he give her his keys, Officer Batta-glia wrote. I grabbed onto the win-dow to assist Beutel. She retrievedher Taser and pointed it at Kennyand advised him if he did not complywith her commands he was going tobe Tased . . . Kenny refused, lockedhis door and continued to roll hiswindow up.

Both officers insisted in theirreports that Mr. Kenny was nowmoving to exit the car on the pas-senger side. Officer Battaglia

Please see DUI onA6

Minutemanlaunched

into Pacificfrom

VandenbergBy NORA K. WALLACENEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

After an unplanned delay of severalhours Wednesday morning, crews at

Vandenberg Air Force Base launcheda Minuteman 3 intercontinental bal-listic missile.

The unarmed ICBM blew out of itsnorth base silo at 6:35 a.m. but itsascent was obscured from local view-ers by heavy fog.

Crews had a six-hour time frame inwhich to launch the missile. It wasinitially expected to blast out ofLaunch Facility 10 at 3:01 a.m., but itdid not begin its mission until morethan three hours later.

The delay, according to base offi-cials, was caused by bad weather at themissiles target zone in the CentralPacific Ocean and an interruption incommunication with the AirborneLaunch Control System aboard anE-6B Mercury aircraft from Offutt AirForce Base in Nebraska.

With the codename LookingGlass, the airborne command post is

meant to provide survivable, endur-able, reliable airborne command,control and communications supportof U.S. nuclear forces should ground-based control become inoperable.The Airborne Launch Control Systemaboard the plan can transmit launchcommands to ground-based ICBMs.

During Wednesdays launch, how-ever, there was an unspecified com-munication problem with the aircraftduring the countdown, so the launchcontrol was switched to the ground

JOE DAVILA PHOTO

This image provided by

Vandenberg Air Force Base

shows the launch Wednesday ofa Minuteman 3 intercontinental

ballistic missile.

Please see LAUNCH onA5

8/3/2019 Peter Lance DUI-Series Part Two

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SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS FROM THE FRONT THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2011A6

reported that his dog was very agi-tated and was aggressively barking.

Allegations of batteryon Officer Beutel

As Officer Beutel recounted,Kenny was attempting to scoot out ofthe vehicle, feet first. I placed myselfin front of the open door and orderedKenny to stay in the car. I had my Taserin my right hand and was attempting to

tell Kenny that he was going to beTased if he continued to be non-compliant. I informed him to staywhere he was until a supervisorarrived on scene. With his right foot,Kenny kicked me in the right hip. Afterkicking me, Kenny attempted to pushforward. I deployed my Taser at closerange, approximately 2 feet. TheTaser probes hit him in the chest . . .Kenny then pulled the Taser probesfrom his chest, forcibly pushed mewith both hands and shoved mebackwards as he exited the vehicle . . .Kenny then stepped around the openpassenger door and began sprintingSouthbound on La Marina.

At this point, another six officers, inaddition to officers Beutel and Batta-glia, responded and a search com-menced. Mr. Kenny was found min-utes later with his dog hiding in anearby house under construction. Hewas cuffed and ultimately chargedwith DUI, battery on a police officer

and resisting arrest.Michael Kennys version

of the caseAccording to Mr. Kenny, 42, a life-

long resident of Santa Barbara whooperates the fishing boat Patty Ann,prior to the stop, he had been at theMesa Caf on Cliff Drive attending aninformal wake for a fellow fisherman.He offered to give Ms. Vaughn, whomhed just met, a ride home, because shewas living on a boat at Santa BarbaraHarbor. In a handwritten report hemade shortly after the event, hedescribed what happened after KasiBeutel pulled him over on La Marina.

The officer approached the driverside window, which was rolled downabout 10 inches. She said that I waspulled over due to my rear lights notworking. She then asked me for mydrivers license which I provided. Shethen went back to her car . . . When shereturned she asked for my insuranceand registration which I provided.

I repeatedly requested to bearrested so I could give a (blood alco-hol content) sample. I didnt believe Iwas drunk. If she wasnt going to arrestme I asked for her to cite me with aticket or release me. At this request,she became very loud and aggressiveand reached into the truck to unlockand open the door. I put my hand overthe lock and she tried to pull thewindow down with her hands. Shethen pulled her Taser and put it to mytemple and then to my shoulder andchest demanding that I exit the truck.

By Mr. Kennys account, all of thistook place on the drivers side of thetruck.

At this time, it seemed to be a goodidea to comply, regardless of what myrights were. I was exiting the truck asinstructed. However, the officer(Beutel) was trying to restrict mymovement by leaning on the door . . .I exited with my arms bent and handsup, palms facing her. My dog was agi-

tated, so I had his leash on my wrist. Assoon as I cleared the door, the officershot me at very close range with theTaser. Shocked, I pulled out the pro-

jectiles and ran in fear.In the Rashomon, she said, he

said, world of DUI arrests andinvestigations, the People vs. MichaelKenny, case number 1327059, wastypical in that the ultimate dispositionwould come down to the word ofMichael Kenny, a fisherman with a6-year-old DUI conviction under hisbelt, versus the word of Kasi Beutel,the award-winning lead officer on theSanta Barbara Police DepartmentsDrinking Driver Team.

But the evidence uncovered in thisinvestigation demonstrates not onlythat Officer Beutel lied in her policereport, but that key evidence whichmight have resulted in a dismissal ofall charges against Mr. Kenny, waswithheld from his defense lawyer.

The officers accountsversus the dispatch log

The first misstatement of fact inOfficer Beutels police report of the2009 incident comes in the first linewhen she cites the time that she pulledMr. Kenny over on La Marina as ap-proximately 2125 hours or 9:25 p.m.In fact, the departments dispatch logon the incident shows that the trafficstop occurred 10 minutes earlier at2115 or 9:15 p.m. Even fellow officerGina Battaglia states that sheresponded at 9:16 p.m. and the dis-patch log documents her arrival sevenminutes later at 9:23 p.m. As OfficerBattaglia noted in her report, When Iarrived, Office Beutel was walking tothe drivers window to contact . . .Michael Kenny.

But if Officer Beutels account is tobe believed, Mr. Kenny was shot withthe stun gun just one minute, 29 sec-onds into the stop an impossibility,not just because the dispatch log

proves otherwise, but because theresan official report of the Tasers firing

time contained in the police report. Itproves that Mr. Kenny was fired on at9:26:29 p.m. 11 minutes, 29 secondsafter the stop.

The police report also containstroubling evidence of a cover-up byOfficer Beutel and other officersassociated with the incident. OfficerBeutel made an audio recording of theincident and a transcript of thatrecording, when compared againstthe dispatch log, proves that a numberof minutes are missing from therecording that was turned over to Mr.Kennys lawyer. Those minutes would

have documented the period whenOfficer Beutel attempted to get Mr.Kenny out of the truck by threateninghim, through the window with theTaser.

A verbatim transcript of thatrecording that follows begins2 minutes, 26 seconds into the stopwhen Officer Beutel walked back toMr. Kennys car after checking hislicense. It continues to the purportedtime she fired her X26 model Taserinto him with a charge of 50,000 volts.OFFICER BEUTEL: Mr. Kenny, can Ihave you step out of the car for just aminute?MR. KENNY: Maam, what for?OFFICER BEUTEL: Yeah, I smell alittle bit of alcohol and I want to eval-uate you out here. I was waiting for mycover officer to arrive. So I just want tomake sure you are OK. I know you saidyou havent had anything to drink andits possible you havent, but I would

just like to check your eyes out here ata straight angle, which is easier for methan in the car.MR. KENNY: OKOFFICER BEUTEL: OK, so if I canhave you step out of the car Idappreciate it.MR. KENNY: Well, at this point Iwould like to ask you to either cite me,release me, or . . .OFFICER BEUTEL: At this point,what we have an option of doing . . .MR. KENNY: (unintelligible)OFFICER BEUTEL: OK, but thatswhat Im going to have you do, Imgoing to have you step out so I cancheck you, to make sure youre not tooimpaired to drive. OK?MR. KENNY: Um, not necessarily.OFFICER BEUTEL: Well, you dontreally have an option. If youd like meto call the supervisor to come and hangout with us on scene while we do this,I can. But right now, you are beingdetained because I want to makesure that youre OK to drivebecause I smell a little bit of

alcohol. OK?MR. KENNY: Um, can I call anattorney?OFFICER BEUTEL: No. Youdont have a right to call anattorney right now. Youre simplybeing detained. You are certainlynot under arrest right now . . .

At this point, about 3 minutes,22 seconds into the recording,there is a decided break, both intone and content. While Mr.Kennys voice remains calm as hesits inside his truck, OfficerBeutel becomes suddenly agitat-ed. We hear what sounds like Mr.Kenny attempting to comply withOfficer Beutels request that heget out of the vehicle, but hervoice level and direction take aradical turn:OFFICER BEUTEL: No, no, no,no! No. Youre about to get your-self Tased or in trouble. Hand methe keys. Hand me the keys!

MR. KENNY: Oh really, youregoing to Tase me?OFFICER BEUTEL: Hand methe car keys! Hand me the carkeys! Hand me your car keys!MR. KENNY: Youre really goingto Tase me?OFFICER BEUTEL: Right nowIm at the point where I feel like . . .Hand me the car keys! Hand meyour car keys!MR. KENNY: Really? My sisterworks for the District AttorneysOffice.OFFICER BEUTEL: Hand me yourcar keys.MR. KENNY: Are you sure you wantto?OFFICER BEUTEL: Hand me yourcar keys.

Mr. Kennys small, gray Australiancattle dog, Pete, who is in the front seatof the truck, starts barking. At thispoint, 3 minutes, 48 seconds into thetape, Officer Beutel asks Officer

Battaglia to call for a supervisor. Thedispatch log shows that Officer Batt-aglia called in a Code 3 and Super-visor at 9:26 p.m.OFFICER BEUTEL (to OfficerBattaglia): Call for cover. (to Mr.Kenny) Hand me your keys! (to OfficerBattaglia) For a supervisor!MR. KENNY: This isnt legal.OFFICER BATTAGLIA (calling itin): Code three.MR. KENNY: Its not legal.OFFICER BEUTEL:Hand me the carkeys! Hand me the car keys. Hand methe car keys. Youre about to getarrested for resisting arrest.MR. KENNY: Youre about ready tobreak the law!OFFICER BEUTEL: Youre about toget arrested for resisting arrest.MR. KENNY: Im not resisting arrest.

At this point, by Officer Battagliasaccount in her report, she was still onthe drivers side, attempting to assistOfficer Beutel. Then suddenly,

Heather Vaughn, Mr. Kennys pas-senger, exits the truck on the

passenger side and Officer Beutelscreams at her:OFFICER BEUTEL: Stay in the car!Stay in the car!OFFICER BATTAGLIA:Do you wantme to go get her?OFFICER BEUTEL (to Officer Batt-aglia):Yup. Now I want you to go openthe door right there.MR. KENNY: I havent been arrested. . . I havent done anything wrong.OFFICER BEUTEL: Nope. Yourebeing detained. Open the car.

At this point, Mr. Kenny is still in thedrivers seat.

OFFICER BEUTEL: OK. You driveaway.MR. KENNY: I want to call my sister.

At this moment, 4 minutes,17 seconds into the tape, Officer Beu-tel seems bent on keeping Mr. Kennyfrom driving away.OFFICER BEUTEL (to Mr. Kenny):Stay here, stay here.

There appears to be another breakin the tape. We hear several seconds ofdead air and then:OFFICER BEUTEL: Good god.OFFICER BATTAGLIA: Were notbreaking the law.MR. KENNY: Yeah, you are breakingthe law. Id be happy to step out of thecar.

Now, in a matter of seconds, OfficerBeutel goes from demanding that Mr.Kenny get out of the vehicle to order-ing him to stay inside.OFFICER BEUTEL: Nope. Nope.Youre gonna stay right there rightnow until we have a supervisor.

At this point, by Mr. Kennysaccount, he began exiting via thedrivers side door.OFFICER BEUTEL (shouting): Staythere! Stay there! Stay there!MR. KENNY: You can go ahead andTase me if youd, like . . .OFFICER BEUTEL: Stay there! Stayin the car! Stay in the car, youre gonnaget . . .

The Taser goes off.MR. KENNY: Ouch!OFFICER BEUTEL (screaming): Getdown, get down, get down on theground!

At this point Mr. Kenny pulls the twoTaser leads from his chest and takesoff running with his dog as OfficerBeutel gives chase, calling in herlocation on her radio.OFFICER BEUTEL: Foot pursuitdown La Marina! Foot pursuit! Affir-

mative. Foot pursuit down La Marinatowards the beach!

The aftermathvideotaped for On Patrol

The distress call from Officer Beutelresulted in at least three Santa Bar-bara Police Department patrol unitsbeing dispatched to the scene tosearch for Mr. Kenny. Sergeant ChadHunt arrived accompanied by a videocrew shooting a segment of On Patrol

With Santa Barbara P.D., the localvariation of the Fox series Cops,which airs weekly on KCOY.

Sgt. Hunt, who narrated the seg-ment, is actually seen passing Mr.Kenny on the street as he walks withhis dog, a block away from the Taserincident. Mr. Kenny hid out in anearby house which was under con-struction and was apprehended,according to the dispatch log, at9:35 p.m., less than nine minutes afterOfficer Beutel fired the Taser.

In the video from the On Patrolepisode that later aired, Mr. Kenny isseen in the construction site lying facedown on the floor as Sgt. Hunt andOfficer Mark Corbett, the former DDTofficer who became Officer Beutelsfianc, stand him up and walk him out.

Moments later, the video shows Sgt.Hunt and Officer Corbett processingthe handcuffed Mr. Kenny near apatrol car back at the scene of theinitial stop. At that point, on the video,

Officer Beutel is heard in voice-overreferring to Heather Vaughn: He had

a passenger in his car. As soon as hestarted going south and rolling up hiswindow, she jumped out and sat on thecurb.

Moments later, Officer Gina Batta-glia is seen saying, I showed up andshe (Officer Beutel) was on the driversside, like starting to argue with him.

And like hes trying to roll the windowup . . . Like both her and I are holdingthe window down so he cant roll it up. . . The Taser goes off. But its like, (Mr.Kenny) was (gesture of surprise) . . .launched off and he was gone.

At that point in the On Patrol

segment, Officer Beutel claims thatMr. Kenny kicked her: He kicked meonce right here (gesturing to her rightthigh area) and with his arms, at thatpoint I had the Taser (she pushes outher arms to indicate Kennys actions)he just shoved me as I was trying to stepback, I had the Taser going off . . .

Missing minuteson the recording

A comparison of the Santa BarbaraPolice Department dispatch log which has a series of indicators pin-pointing events like the Code 3 call against a transcript of the audiorecording, shows that almost sevenminutes appear to be missing from theaudio turned over to Mr. Kennyslawyer.

Even though by the accounts ofofficers Beutel and Battaglia, theyconfronted Mr. Kenny on the driversside of the truck, and tried to roll thewindow down, there is nothing on the

recording to document when that tookplace. Also, there is nothing on therecording to document the assertionby Mr. Kenny that Officer Beutelreached through the window andtouched the Taser to his body.

The recorded evidence of Beutelputting her Taser through the windowcould have been extremely helpful toKennys defense, says Darryl Genis,the veteran Santa Barbara DUIdefense specialist who is representingme in a DUI case where Officer Beutelwas the arresting officer. The com-plete recording should have beenturned over as exculpatory Bradymaterial by the police. If the tape wasedited, that raises serious questions ofa cover-up.

The landmark decision in Brady v.Maryland (1963) requires a prosecutor

to disclose exculpatory evidence to adefendant, a duty that, through caselaw, has been extended to lawenforcement agencies.

A questionable accountof a test by Beutel

Another contention by OfficerBeutel in her report about the DUIstop related to a purported test sheperformed on Mr. Kenny while he wasseated in the truck. I asked him to

look at me so that I could check hiseyes, at which time he turned his headaway. I again asked him to look at me,he asked me if I wanted his registra-tion and insurance. I told him yes,however I wanted to check his eyesfirst. I was able to get a brief look at hiseyes and was able to see nystagmus atmaximum deviation prior to himagain looking away from me.

The horizontal gaze nystagmus testis one of three common examinationsadministered by police officers to testthe sobriety of drivers in DUI stops.The testing protocol designed by theNational Highway Traffic Safety

Administration involves a three-steptest lasting up to 80 seconds in whicha cooperative DUI suspect is asked tofollow a stimulus, like a pen, while theofficer checks his gaze.

Based on my reading of OfficerBeutels report in which she foundnystagmus at maximum deviation, Iwould find that impossible, says

Robert LaPier, a former lead DUIinvestigator for the Idaho State Police

who examined the Kenny file at ourrequest. In this case, the subject, Mr.Kenny, refused to show her his eyes.To conduct the test properly andconclude there was maximum devia-tion, the officer would have had to testeach eye with the stimulus twice for upto four seconds per eye for a total of 16seconds. Only then could she havedetermined whether the deviationwas distinct and sustained. Thatconclusion just couldnt have resultedunder these testing conditions.

D.A. drops the DUIand battery charges

In a booking sheet attached to thereport Officer Beutel wrote, Kennyattempted to exit the passenger side ofthe vehicle and ignored commandsnot to move. Kenny kicked me in theright hip with his right foot. He thenforcibly shoved me backwards as heexited the vehicle.

The Santa Barbara Police Depart-ment treats officer battery cases seri-ously. But there is no evidence, in thepolice report, beyond Officer Beutelsassertion that Mr. Kenny kicked her,that a battery occurred. Even OfficerGina Battaglia who backed up OfficerBeutels claim that Mr. Kenny exitedon the passenger side, failed to men-tion in her narrative of the events anycontact with Officer Beutel by Mr.Kenny as he left the truck.

There were no pictures of OfficerBeutels alleged injuries in the filethat Kenny received. says Mr. Genis.Standard operating procedure in abattered peace officer case is to take

photographic evidence of the injuries.But beyond Beutels claim that Kennywent after her a story that mighthelp explain why she Tased him atpoint blank range no other evidencewas presented.

In fact, on page nine of the SantaBarbara Police Department report,which lists Victim #1 as Beutel,Kasi, the entry in the section Type ofinjury states none. And in the sec-tion Injury sustained by officer, itsays not injured.

Officer Beutel filesworkers comp claim

Nonetheless, despite no evidencein the police report beyond KasiBeutels claim that she was injured,and despite her initial insistence thatMr. Kenny had kicked her in the right

hip with his right foot, a workerscompensation claim was filed on herbehalf alleging that she sustained aninjury to her shoulder while takingKenny into custody.

On June 17, 2011, Mr. Kennysattorney received a letter from Julia

Alcocer, a risk analyst with the city ofSanta Barbaras Finance Departmentstating: Officer Beutel has now com-pleted treatment for these injurieswhich included $2,274.02 in paid

medical costs to date and $5,488.87 intemporary disability payments. Thecity has asked the District AttorneysOffice to request that charges againstMichael Kenny include restitution forthe damages, which total $7,762.89.

To get this letter 24 months after Iwas Tasered, when there is zero evi-dence in the police report beyondOfficer Beutels word that she wasinjured, is beyond belief, says Mr.Kenny. Didnt anybody in the riskmanagement department read thepolice report where it says on pagenine that Officer Beutel sustained noinjuries?

Kenny wasnt DUIPerhaps more troubling than the

lack of hard evidence to support thebattery claim and this latest claim forworkers compensation damages, wasthe test of Mr. Kennys blood alcoholcontent performed at Goleta ValleyCottage Hospital after he was takeninto custody. The report shows a BACof .07, which is under the legal limit.

In other words, says Mr. Genis, thelawyer, this guy gets shot with 50,000volts after he gets pulled over for a DUIand he wasnt even under the influ-ence as a matter of law.

After months of costly litigation forMr. Kenny, the D.A.s office ended updropping the DUI and battery chargesand Mr. Kenny pleaded no contest tothe charge of resisting arrest.

Did the taseringviolate department policy?

By Officer Beutels own admissionin her police report, she placed theX26 Taser against Kennys shoul-der. He claimed that she also touchedhis head. Moments later, she fired theX26 at a range of two feet, indicatingthat the Taser cartridge with itsblast doors containing the explosiveleads, was fixed to the front of theweapon at the time she placed itthrough the partially open driversside window.

Just how dangerous was thataction? In bold letters, the manual forthe X26 from the manufacturer (TaserInternational) warns officers toKEEP BODY PARTS AWAY FROMthe front of the TASER cartridge.Further, the Police Department Pol-icy Manual authorizes Taser use onlyto subdue or control: (a) a violent orphysically resisting subject or (b) apotentially violent or physicallyresisting subject if . . . other availableoptions reasonably appear ineffectiveor would present a greater danger tothe officer or subject.

In this case you had a suspect who

was inside a locked truck, says FelixDAmico, a retired sergeant from theSan Bernardino County SheriffsDepartment who spent 23 yearsworking DUI cases and examinedOfficer Beutels account of the Kennyincident. He had no legal obligationto exit the vehicle and perform anyfield sobriety tests or the nystagmustest. You had a second officerdeployed on the other side of thevehicle. I wasnt there, but its difficultto understand how an officer woulduse a Taser to coerce a DUI subject outof a vehicle and then deploy thatweapon absent solid proof of anattack.

Beutel misstatesKennys arrest history

At the end of her narrative in thepolice report on Michael Kennys2009 arrest, Officer Beutel writes, Itshould be noted, Kenny has anextensive criminal history including

prior arrests for DUI, resisting arrestand battery charges.Yet a computer printout of Mr.

Kennys record, contained in thatsame police report, shows only thesingle DUI arrest for a stop inNovember 2003 and some minortraffic violations. The printoutshows no other arrests for resistingarrest or battery, one of the chargesin this case that was ultimatelydropped by the district attorney.

Thousands in legal feesand lost earnings

Apart from surviving the stun gunpenetration, Michael Kennysinteraction that night with OfficerKasi Beutel has been costly. Afternearly a year of litigation and morethan $8,500 in legal fees, fines andrelated costs, hes now on housearrest, forced to submit to 35 days ofelectronic monitoring by the SantaBarbara County Sheriffs Depart-ment. The sentence, which began

May 26, prevents him from diving forsea urchins; his principal source ofincome.

Keeping me out of the water willcost another $8,000 in earnings, saysMr. Kenny.

Perhaps even worse, when itcomes to his reputation, Mr. Kennyhas seen the Santa Barbara PoliceDepartment version of his caseplayed and replayed on On Patrol.Even though the DUI and batterycharges were dropped months ago by

the D.A.s office, a rerun of that seg-ment titled Officer in Foot Pursuit,was included in the Best of On Patrolthat aired April 2. It contains the fol-lowing commentary from Sgt. ChadHunt who signed off on Officer Beu-tels report of the Kenny incident:

Hes likely DUI, resisting an offic-er. Battery on an officer, cause as hewas getting out he kicked her with hisfoot on her upper leg and hip to get herout of the way.

They know that the blood evidencedidnt support the DUI, says Mr.Kenny. They also know that therewasnt a shred of evidence presentedbeyond Beutels allegation that Ikicked her, which is why they droppedthe charges, yet this episode continuesto replay unedited, leaving theimpression that I drove drunk andattacked a female police officer.

Its amazing that in the year 2009, aU.S. citizen can be driving withoutbeing under the influence, have hislife threatened and have an indeliblemark on his record as a result of anoverzealous cop who is willing to lieand get other officers to back her story

just to rack up another DUI arrest.How much did my prosecution cost thecounty of Santa Barbara? There wereeight officers involved, a year of liti-gation, court time, the D.A.s time, the

judges time. It had to be thousandsand thousands of dollars and forwhat?

e-mail: news@newspress.com

Minutes missing from audio recording of incidentIDUIContinued from Page A1

COURTESY PHOTO

At left is a June 3, 2011, letter from the city of Santa Barbara urging the Santa Barbara County District Attorneys

Office to file additional charges against Santa Barbara fisherman Michael Kenny in connection with injuries heallegedly inflicted on police Officer Kasi Beutel during his arrest in August 2009. At right is a portion of a

booking sheet indicating Officer Beutel was not injured in the incident, despite later claims to have been kicked

in the right hip by Mr. Kenny and to have suffered shoulder injuries in the incident.