Man suing Idaho Falls Police, accuses department of excessive force

IDAHO FALLS – A man is suing the Idaho Falls Police Department for excessive force after reportedly being tased multiple times.

Michael Martinez, the plaintiff in the case, says Idaho Falls Police officers unnecessarily tased him at his home on Sept. 25, 2021, calling their conduct “extreme and outrageous.”

The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 12 and accused Idaho Falls Police of failure to supervise, battery, excessive force, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false arrest/imprisonment.

Court documents name Idaho Falls Police Sgt. Sage Albright, Officer Brandon Anderson, Capt. Jessica Marley and Police Chief Bryce Johnson as defendants.

EastIdahoNews.com has repeatedly reached out to Martinez for comment and has not received a response.

We also reached out to Assistant City Attorney Michael Kirkham, who said that the city does not comment during ongoing investigations.

The claim states Martinez and his wife had just returned from a day of boating. They reportedly had an argument over the keys to the car and his shop because his wife did not want to give him the keys.

The claim states there was “no violence, no telephone removal, no threats of violence.” There was, however, a yelling match.

The lawsuit alleges Sgt. Albright and Officer Anderson went to the front door where Martinez was standing and asked him to leave his house. Martinez refused, and Albright reportedly “charged into the house.”

According to the police report, Martinez was “in a fighting stance,” but according to the lawsuit, Martinez was “backing up with his arms over his head.”

Anderson then shot him with a taser twice.

Albright then reportedly “charged” Martinez, according to the lawsuit, and put him in a headlock before Martinez’s wife came back into the home and told the officers to “knock it off.”

Martinez’s wife then “jumped” at one of the officers to try to pull him away, but the officer allegedly threw her on the ground and held her.

Martinez was able to break free from the headlock but was placed into a police car.

Martinez’s attorney, Robin Dunn, who was recently arrested and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, wrote in the complaint that video footage of the altercation does not match the police reports.

The complaint states that there were no underlying charges filed against Martinez or his wife and that Martinez warned the officers not to enter his home without a search warrant.

Dunn wrote in the complaint that “the officers turned off their recordings when deciding what to do” and Martinez’s body “contained a broken tazer (sic) tip which he has retained.”

After the incident, both Martinez and his wife were charged with resisting arrest, but the charges were later dismissed.

Dunn states in the complaint that Martinez’s body “contained a broken tazer (sic) tip which he has retained.”

It also says he has experienced “physical, mental and emotional grief, embarrassment and suffering” because of the officer’s actions.

Martinez is requesting more than $10,000 in damages and a jury trial. No further hearings have been scheduled, and the defendants have not responded to the claims.