'One officer was telling me not to move, one officer was telling me to get on the ground'
EUGENE, Ore.--The University of Oregon student shocked twice with a Taser while being arrested by police at a protest told jurors he felt police officers were more concerned with inflicting pain on him than arresting him.
Ian Van Ornum, 19, testified there a "gray parts" about what happened on May 30, 2008, but he does remember the events leading up to when a police officer fired a Taser at him.
"If I were resisting arrest, you would think two strong officers would be able to handcuff a scrawny teenager," Van Ornum said. "It seemed like pain was more important."
Van Ornum, 19, is on trial for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. Police and prosecutors allege he was blocking traffic at the intersection of Broadway and Willamette following the May 2008 protest against pesticides.
Van Ornum has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In court, Van Ornum described his actions when police arrived on scene. Wearing a white Tyvek jump suit, he was carrying a spray wand attched to a plastic jug filled with water around the intersection.
"Spraying the flower pot in one corner, walking across the crosswalk to another corner, spraying that flower pot. Proceeding to do the same around the square in a square," said Van Ornum, stressing he stayed in the crosswalks and did not block traffic.
Previously, Eugene Police Sgt. Bill Solesbee testified he saw Van Ornum walk through a crosswalk, then double back immediately afterward so cars could not pass through.
Van Ornum denied that. He said Sgt. Solesbee called him over to his unmarked police vehicle and told him to get out of traffic or he would be arrested.
Van Ornum said he was being a “smart ass” and responded he couldn’t be arrested because he was 17 and wasn’t doing anything illegal.
When Solesbee drove away, Van Ornum said he walked to a planter and stayed on the sidewalk. He began speaking with a passerby when another police officer approached him.
Van Ornum then described being grabbed from behind, his arm “twisted” behind his back and pulled across the street. Van Ornum also described his hair being pulled, his head slammed into the ground and pushed up against a pillar.
“I remember one officer was telling me not to move, one officer was telling me to get on the ground,” said Van Ornum. “Very confusing."
"Basically the entire time, as the pain kept coming, I was basically saying the whole time, why are you doing this? Why?" said Van Ornum.
Jurors were also shown video taken with a camera in a police cruiser. Van Ornum and Solesbee can be heard, off camera, talking about the events that led up to the Taser firing. Van Ornum was read his Miranda rights.
Van Ornum is heard telling Solesbee traffic was backed up because of the pesticide protest.
“We had big signs, people were reading the signs,” said Van Ornum.
Van Ornum is also heard saying, "I was definitely holding up traffic to some extent, but I just want to say I was only up there for a few minutes when you came up."
During cross-examination, Van Ornum told Prosecutor Bob Lane the words “some extent” were important. He said he meant cars had to yield for him as they have to yield for all pedestrians in crosswalks.
Lane and defense attorney Laura Fine gave their closing arguments Thursday afternoon. The jury started receiving jury instructions shortly after 2 p.m.
