No criminal charges for Coquille officers in Foster case

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Story Published: Feb 25, 2008 at 4:43 PM PDT

By Britt Carlson

COQUILLE- With a vote of 6-1, a Coos County Grand Jury decides not to press criminal charges against two Coquille officers involved in the January arrest of Carl Foster, which ultimately left him a quadriplegic.

On Friday, the Grand Jury and Frasier found that Coquille officers Chris Webley and James Bryant had probable cause to arrest Foster and used reasonable force in doing so.

On January 12th, officers Webley and Bryant attempted to question Foster about damaging a woman's car windshield with a hammer the previous night, as she was giving his ex-girlfriend a ride.

With a lengthy criminal record in Oregon, police deemed it necessary to send two officers to make contact with Foster.

After refusing to answer the officers and then resisting arrest, they took him to the ground, which Frasier says is a common tactic used by police officers everyday.

"The evidence was overwhelming that what occurred was he resisted arrest, they took him to the ground and somehow in the process of hitting the ground, he ends up this way. Mr. Foster had a degenerative disease in his cervical spine, which rendered his spine in a position of not being able to withstand this type of blow."

A medical examination also found traces of meth in Foster's urine test.

Frasier says the criminal case is considered closed unless anyone comes forward with additional information, and it is up to Foster to decide if he'll pursue a civil case.

Frasier also decided not to prosecute Foster for his criminal behavior in January, due to his current medical condition.

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