Judge rejects civil suit in beating by officers

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1998 | 10:56 a.m.

A man accused of stealing coins who was later beaten by police in a downtown casino lost his bid to quash a settlement he made with Metro Police.

Andrew Dersch, 41, had sought to reverse a deal he reached with Metro, where he received $3,700 following a June 1995 altercation with police at the Fremont hotel-casino.

A surveillance videotape shows Dersch in a security room at the Fremont being interviewed by Metro bicycle officers. One of the officers punched Dersch in the chest and dragged him into a room out of sight of security cameras.

Robert Kossack, Dersch's attorney, argued that his client signed the agreement in fear of being sent back to jail and beaten again. Kossack said in court documents that Dersch didn't understand the release, and he had no attorney present at the time.

Dersch had previously filed a lawsuit against the Fremont Hotel and the security guards who watched him being beaten. He dropped the lawsuit in March, but pursued legal action against the officers who beat him.

Former Metro officers James Campbell, Robert Phelan and Brian Nicholson were involved in the beating incident. The three officers were placed on house arrest with ankle bracelets.

All three were released from house arrest earlier this summer.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro dismissed Dersch's civil lawsuit against the officers on Monday. Dersch had argued that Metro didn't have authority to settle on behalf of the individual officers.

District Judge Donald Mosely sentenced Dersch in January to prison for five to 18 years for committing a burglary. The judge said he had been a habitual criminal.

Dersch, upon pleading guilty to burglary, said that he was driven by a drug problem.

Mosely, however, said Dersch's crime and drug history dated back to 1977. He saw him as a habitual thief.