SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys filed a complaint in federal court Wednesday morning on behalf of an elderly couple who claimed police officers in Ogden used "unnecessary excessive force" against them.
The incident happened nearly one year ago, on November 29, 2022, at a home in Ogden involving 78-year-old Rand Briem and his 74-year-old wife, Vera Briem.
The complaint alleges officers responded to the home that was supposedly in foreclosure to determine if the couple was squatting on the property.
Rand Briem explained he owned the home and the "non-occupancy" sign posted on the door referred to the basement area due to contamination, attorneys stated in a release.
An officer asked for Briem's driver's license and when asked for his identification back and reached for it, Attorney Bob Sykes said his client was "subjected to an improper forceful takedown, without any cause."
Photos show injuries such as bruising and cuts Rand allegedly suffered due to the incident and Sykes said he sustained a rotator cuff tear "which still plagues him today."
The complaint states Rand was not a danger, was not resisting officers and that the "force employed by the officers was unnecessary and grossly excessive."
"Under constitutional principles, forces not permitted where no force is required," Sykes said in a release. "When force is used, and cannot be excessive, or more than required. These principles were violated in this case, in a dramatic and unjustified fashion."
FOX 13 News reached out to the Ogden Police Department for their response to the complaint. Lieutenant William Farr has responded with the following:
"The case is still pending in the Ogden Justice Court. A complete After Action Use of Force review was completed in November of 2022. There is complete Body Worn Camera footage of the interaction which was reviewed by the officers' chain of command as part of our After Action Review process. The Ogden Police Department is confident that the court will find our officers' use of force justified as our internal review did.
