Jury Clears Officers In Antonio Jackson Case -- Safeway Workers Negligent But Exempt From Suit

A federal jury's decision to clear several parties of violating Antonio Jackson's civil rights will likely end the legal battles that have continued since Jackson's 1993 death.

In a verdict announced yesterday, the jury ruled that the actions of two King County Police officers and a security guard did not cause Jackson to die after he was wrestled to the ground outside a Federal Way Safeway store.

Some jurors said the decision was a difficult one. The jury deliberated for more than two days before returning the verdict.

"It was really, really painful," said one female juror, who asked not to be identified. "We struggled with everything."

There was little emotion in the near-empty courtroom in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Neither Jackson's family members nor defendants - including police officers Michael Rayborn and Jeff Nicolai and security guard Theodis Tensley - were in the courtroom for the verdict.

Jurors did rule that two Safeway employees who participated in tackling and holding down Jackson were negligent. But the decision against Donald Carrick and Scott Elston will bring no financial consequences, because the two employees were removed as parties in the suit after Safeway reached a financial settlement with Jackson's family last year.

The jury also cleared defendants King County and Northwest Protective Service Inc.

The verdict means Jackson's family, which had filed the suit before county prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges, will not receive monetary compensation beyond the undisclosed amount negotiated with Safeway.

Allen Ressler, attorney for the Jackson family, called the verdict a complete loss for his clients. Ressler said it is unlikely an appeal will be filed.

The verdict was read by U.S. District Judge William Dwyer, who oversaw the trial that began Sept. 19. He thanked the jury for sitting in judgment on a hard and difficult case.

Jackson, a 25-year-old African American, died Dec. 14, 1993, after he was wrestled to the ground by Carrick, Elston and two bystanders outside the store. He had been accused of stealing a pack of cigarettes.

Tensley, the security guard, walked away without helping Jackson after others put him in a "choke hold," Ressler said during the trial.

Ressler told the jury that Rayborn and Nicolai, who arrived after Jackson had been wrestled to the ground, prevented Jackson from getting critical medical attention.

All three, Jackson's family alleged, violated his civil rights and contributed to his death.

Defense attorneys argued that Jackson died at the hands of the four men who tackled him, not the police or security officer.

Tensley did not have authority over Carrick, a Safeway employee, his attorney said. And responding police officers were concerned about initial reports that a gun might have been involved.

During the trial, Ressler charged that Jackson was the victim of racist actions by Rayborn and Nicolai.

But members of the jury, which included no African Americans, said yesterday that when it came to the legal questions put to them, they simply couldn't find the direct link between the defendants' actions and Jackson's death.

When jurors took a quick vote at the beginning of deliberations Thursday, more than a few jurors wanted to rule against each of the defendants, said one male juror, who asked not to be identified.

But on closer examination, the decision hinged on the interpretation of "proximate cause," the degree to which the defendants' actions caused Jackson's death.