Issaquah Officers Broke Elderly Man's Neck, Lawsuit Alleges

ISSAQUAH, WA - Two Issaquah officers broke an elderly man's neck when they restrained him during a domestic violence incident last August, a new lawsuit alleges. That man, Wangshen Leng, died about a month after the incident, and his family is now suing the department for using excessive force.

Leng's family filed the suit in federal court in Seattle on April 3. The department responded to the allegations suit Thursday night, saying that Leng was handcuffed for resisting and so officers could "safely continue their investigation."

"Our sympathies are with Mr. Leng’s family. Law enforcement is required to investigate all calls involving reported domestic violence. The officer responded to this incident under this obligation, and upon discovery that Mr. Leng had medical concerns summoned the necessary medical assistance," the department said in the statement.

But the lawsuit claims that no crime occurred the night Issaquah police went to Leng's home.

"Despite the fact that he was a slight, elderly man with an obvious inability to communicate with them, despite the fact that no crime had occurred, and despite the fact that there was no reasonable basis for believing a crime had happened, the Defendant Officers rushed into Mr. Leng’s apartment to unlawfully seize him within in his own home," the lawsuit says.

According to police, two officers went to Leng's home after neighbors called 911 to report a possible domestic disturbance. When officers arrived, Leng's wife answered the door, but Leng was holding her from behind. The officers entered the home, police said, to "further investigate the possible domestic violence situation, and separate the parties."

Attorneys for the Leng family write in the lawsuit that Leng and his wife were spending a quiet evening at home, and had not been yelling. They are both from China and do not speak English well, the lawsuit says.

"[The officers] threw Mr. Leng on to the couch and began to bend his arms behind his back, applying significant pressure to his spinal cord. The officers, with no justification for so doing, eventually handcuffed Mr. Leng behind his back," the lawsuit says.

The statement issued by Issaquah police Thursday doesn't specify what happened during the restraining process. The statements said that officers handcuffed Leng and then "determined that the incident was of a medical nature and summoned medical assistance."

In early September 2018, Issaquah police asked the King County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the incident. That investigation is still ongoing as of April 5, according to the sheriff's office.

Leng had surgery to repair his injuries, the lawsuit says, but he later developed sores and pneumonia. He died on Sept. 7.