Ramsey Detective Lawsuit To Begin
Civil Trial Scheduled For First Detective At Ramsey Crime Scene
A civil trial is set to begin Tuesday for a former
Boulder police detective who claims her bosses unfairly made her a
scapegoat for mistakes in the JonBenet Ramsey investigation.
Jurors will have to decide whether the police department's
effort to shield its ongoing investigation from the public
outweighed Linda Arndt's (pictured, left) First Amendment rights to speak in her own
defense.
Among those listed as potential witnesses are JonBenet's
parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, although they had not been
subpoenaed as of late Friday, according to their attorney, Lin Wood.
After settlement talks in the lawsuit collapsed last week, U.S.
District Judge William F. Downes scheduled jury selection to begin
Tuesday for the seven-day trial.
Arndt, 40, the first detective on the scene at the Ramsey home,
has alleged that two police chiefs violated her rights by prohibiting
her from challenging media reports that implied she bungled the
investigation. Neither chief disputed the false reports, she
claimed. She is seeking unspecified damages.
"The police department refused to support Ms. Arndt," said her
attorney, A. Bruce Jones. "They let lies circulate freely about
her, they scapegoated her and they gagged her. They let her twist
in the wind and be the fall person in the Ramsey investigation."
Former Chief Tom Koby, current Chief Mark Beckner and the city,
all defendants, contended the highly publicized Ramsey
investigation would have been compromised if police spoke publicly
in the defense of Arndt or any other officer.
"It's a very unusual case," said attorney Ted Halaby, who
represents the defendants. "Police officers normally don't
maintain they have a First Amendment right to speak about an
ongoing criminal investigation in defense of their conduct."
The suit revolves around the Dec. 26, 1996, slaying of the
6-year-old JonBenet, who was found beaten and strangled in the
basement of her family's home.
Police have said JonBenet's parents remain under an umbrella of
suspicion. The Ramseys, who since have moved to suburban Atlanta,
have denied the allegations. A grand jury disbanded without filing
charges.
Arndt was responding to Patsy Ramsey's 911 call when she arrived
at the family's upscale home. For nearly three hours, she was the
only detective there, watching the parents, their pastor, four
friends and two victim's advocates.
John Ramsey, searching the house at Arndt's request, found his
daughter's body in the basement several hours later.
Arndt was removed from the case five months later and resigned
from the department in 1999.
She was criticized for allowing John Ramsey to search the home
without an accompanying police officer and for placing a blanket
over his daughter's body, possibly contaminating evidence. She also
was partially blamed for not taking statements immediately from the
Ramseys.
D.P. Van Blaricom, a former Bellevue, Wash., police chief who
filed a court report on Arndt's behalf, said the detective's
actions met a reasonable standard of professional care.
At the home, Arndt was told other officers had searched the
premises, but they missed the wine cellar, where JonBenet's body
was found, Van Blaricom wrote.
Arndt asked John Ramsey and two friends to stay out of
JonBenet's bedroom but to look for anything they thought might have
been taken, he wrote. John Ramsey appeared a short time later
carrying JonBenet's body.
Arndt claims police did nothing to refute false media reports
that she noticed a hammer and flashlight but failed to collect it
as evidence, that she allowed John Ramsey to leave the house, that
she refused to let the FBI enter and that she may have hacked into
police computer files.
"It appears that plaintiff was essentially set up, as a
scapegoat, to take the fall for a sensational homicide that the BPD
could demonstrably not clear," Van Blaricom wrote.
The court file includes an affidavit in which Arndt said that
evidence suggests John Ramsey may have killed his daughter. Arndt
also said that Koby told her he thought Patsy Ramsey was responsible.
A judge delayed discovery and depositions in the case until late
1999 to protect a 13-month grand-jury investigation into JonBenet's
death. The probe ended Oct. 13, 1999, without any charges being
filed.
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Jurors will have to decide whether the police department's
effort to shield its ongoing investigation from the public
outweighed Linda Arndt's (pictured, left) First Amendment rights to speak in her own
defense.
Among those listed as potential witnesses are JonBenet's
parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, although they had not been
subpoenaed as of late Friday, according to their attorney, Lin Wood.
After settlement talks in the lawsuit collapsed last week, U.S.
District Judge William F. Downes scheduled jury selection to begin
Tuesday for the seven-day trial.
Arndt, 40, the first detective on the scene at the Ramsey home,
has alleged that two police chiefs violated her rights by prohibiting
her from challenging media reports that implied she bungled the
investigation. Neither chief disputed the false reports, she
claimed. She is seeking unspecified damages.
"The police department refused to support Ms. Arndt," said her
attorney, A. Bruce Jones. "They let lies circulate freely about
her, they scapegoated her and they gagged her. They let her twist
in the wind and be the fall person in the Ramsey investigation."
Former Chief Tom Koby, current Chief Mark Beckner and the city,
all defendants, contended the highly publicized Ramsey
investigation would have been compromised if police spoke publicly
in the defense of Arndt or any other officer.
"It's a very unusual case," said attorney Ted Halaby, who
represents the defendants. "Police officers normally don't
maintain they have a First Amendment right to speak about an
ongoing criminal investigation in defense of their conduct."
The suit revolves around the Dec. 26, 1996, slaying of the
6-year-old JonBenet, who was found beaten and strangled in the
basement of her family's home.
Police have said JonBenet's parents remain under an umbrella of
suspicion. The Ramseys, who since have moved to suburban Atlanta,
have denied the allegations. A grand jury disbanded without filing
charges.
Arndt was responding to Patsy Ramsey's 911 call when she arrived
at the family's upscale home. For nearly three hours, she was the
only detective there, watching the parents, their pastor, four
friends and two victim's advocates.
John Ramsey, searching the house at Arndt's request, found his
daughter's body in the basement several hours later.
Arndt was removed from the case five months later and resigned
from the department in 1999.
She was criticized for allowing John Ramsey to search the home
without an accompanying police officer and for placing a blanket
over his daughter's body, possibly contaminating evidence. She also
was partially blamed for not taking statements immediately from the
Ramseys.
D.P. Van Blaricom, a former Bellevue, Wash., police chief who
filed a court report on Arndt's behalf, said the detective's
actions met a reasonable standard of professional care.
At the home, Arndt was told other officers had searched the
premises, but they missed the wine cellar, where JonBenet's body
was found, Van Blaricom wrote.
Arndt asked John Ramsey and two friends to stay out of
JonBenet's bedroom but to look for anything they thought might have
been taken, he wrote. John Ramsey appeared a short time later
carrying JonBenet's body.
Arndt claims police did nothing to refute false media reports
that she noticed a hammer and flashlight but failed to collect it
as evidence, that she allowed John Ramsey to leave the house, that
she refused to let the FBI enter and that she may have hacked into
police computer files.
"It appears that plaintiff was essentially set up, as a
scapegoat, to take the fall for a sensational homicide that the BPD
could demonstrably not clear," Van Blaricom wrote.
The court file includes an affidavit in which Arndt said that
evidence suggests John Ramsey may have killed his daughter. Arndt
also said that Koby told her he thought Patsy Ramsey was responsible.
A judge delayed discovery and depositions in the case until late
1999 to protect a 13-month grand-jury investigation into JonBenet's
death. The probe ended Oct. 13, 1999, without any charges being
filed.
- May 15, 2001: Ramsey Detective's Case Dealt Setback
- May 14, 2001: Ramsey Detective: I Feared For My Life
- May 1, 2001: Ramsey Detective Describes 'Stun Gun' Photos
- May 1, 2001: Ramsey Investigator Pushes Intruder Theory
- April 26, 2001: Former Ramsey Investigator To Release Crime-Scene Photos
- March 30, 2001: Ramseys Sue Former Boulder Detective For Libel
- March 19, 2001: Housekeeper's Lawsuit Against Ramseys Moves Forward
- March 8, 2001: Ramseys Settle With Tabloid Over JonBenet Murder Stories
- January 10, 2001: Ramseys Claim They Were Set Up
Copyright 2002 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
