Rush guitarist gets setback in court fight
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson has lost a round in his court fight against the Florida police officers stemming from a New Year's Eve party at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in December 2003. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson of the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida's Fort Myers division has found that members of the Collier County Sheriff's Department "were objectively reasonable" in arresting and Tasering Lifeson and his son Justin, according to the Naples (Florida) News.
The Lifesons, along with Justin's wife Michelle, had claimed in civil suits that they were the victims of "illegal detention" and that the officers had used "excessive force," but Magnuson said, "In sum, the plaintiffs have not established that any of the defendant deputies violated their constitutional right to be free of excessive force."
The judge also found that the deputies were immune from prosecution, since they didn't violate anyone's rights, which effectively ends a trial against them that was scheduled for later this month. In addition, Magnuson cleared the hotel and a member of its security staff of any negligence.
On December 31st, 2003, the Lifeson family attended a New Year's Eve party at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Naples. Justin got up on the bandstand twice, without being invited, and the police were called. Alex felt Justin was being treated improperly by the sheriff's deputies and went to his son's defense, at which time both men were hit with Tasers. Alex also suffered a broken nose in the brawl, during which he allegedly pushed one deputy down a flight of stairs and spit blood on another.
In late 2005, Lifeson told us he was really bothered by the behavior of the people at the Ritz-Carlton: "The really difficult part of that whole thing was the way the hotel staff acted that night, because really, there was nothing that we'd done. We were having dinner when they came in to get my son, and I'm not about to stand by and let these people beat up my son -- in the Ritz-Carlton, of all places."
Lifeson's attorney plans to appeal the judge's decision.
The Lifesons have already completed a term of probation, which they were sentenced to in a plea deal back in April 2005.
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The Lifesons, along with Justin's wife Michelle, had claimed in civil suits that they were the victims of "illegal detention" and that the officers had used "excessive force," but Magnuson said, "In sum, the plaintiffs have not established that any of the defendant deputies violated their constitutional right to be free of excessive force."
The judge also found that the deputies were immune from prosecution, since they didn't violate anyone's rights, which effectively ends a trial against them that was scheduled for later this month. In addition, Magnuson cleared the hotel and a member of its security staff of any negligence.
On December 31st, 2003, the Lifeson family attended a New Year's Eve party at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Naples. Justin got up on the bandstand twice, without being invited, and the police were called. Alex felt Justin was being treated improperly by the sheriff's deputies and went to his son's defense, at which time both men were hit with Tasers. Alex also suffered a broken nose in the brawl, during which he allegedly pushed one deputy down a flight of stairs and spit blood on another.
In late 2005, Lifeson told us he was really bothered by the behavior of the people at the Ritz-Carlton: "The really difficult part of that whole thing was the way the hotel staff acted that night, because really, there was nothing that we'd done. We were having dinner when they came in to get my son, and I'm not about to stand by and let these people beat up my son -- in the Ritz-Carlton, of all places."
Lifeson's attorney plans to appeal the judge's decision.
The Lifesons have already completed a term of probation, which they were sentenced to in a plea deal back in April 2005.
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