Boise man filming police was arrested in 2022. Charges dropped, he’s suing for $1M

A Boise man has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the city of Boise and two police officers over an arrest last summer in a downtown parking lot.

Ty Justin William Werenka, 30 of Boise, filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District of Idaho, the region’s federal court. The two named officers are Cpl. Norman “Denny” Carter and Officer Avery Westendorf, both then with the Boise Police Department.

In June 2022, Werenka was leaving a parking garage on Main Street when he saw police officers responding to a vehicle accident near the garage’s exit, according to a complaint.

He had a conversation with a garage employee, who asked him to continue on out of the garage, after which Werenka left, parked on a nearby street and returned.

“Mr. Werenka is an activist who routinely films police interactions as he wants to ensure an independent record is kept and for the safety of all involved,” according to the complaint.

In an interview with the Idaho Statesman, Werenka said he again talked to the garage attendant, who asked him to leave, and was heading for the exit when Carter yelled to ask what he was doing, after which the two approached each other.

Werenka held up his cellphone and began filming, and had a conversation with Carter. The Statesman received body camera footage from the responding officers through a public records request, which showed the interaction.

Werenka exchanged words with the officer, who asked him, “Why are you interfering with this investigation?”

Werenka responded by saying that he planned to leave, and he continued filming.

Werenka then held up his cellphone camera at the level of his face while he talked further to Carter. The officer slapped Werenka’s phone to the ground, saying, “Get that out of my face.”

The officer then grabbed Werenka — who was stooping down toward his fallen phone — and pushed him up against a nearby wall, according to video footage. Werenka was handcuffed and pushed to a seated position.

Werenka’s complaint states that he was thrown “into a nearby wall, and violently (taken) ... to the ground.”

Werenka was arrested and charged with resisting and obstructing. The misdemeanor charges were dropped last fall, according to previous Statesman reporting, but police kept his phone as evidence for two months after his arrest. In December, he filed a tort claim against Boise.

In Idaho, cities have 90 days to respond to tort claims before lawsuits may be filed.

Boise man taken to jail after filming police files tort claim over ‘false arrest’

The lawsuit accuses Boise of arresting Werenka without probable cause; using excessive force; conducting an unreasonable search; violating his free speech rights; assault and battery; failure of one of the officers — Westendorf — to intervene to help Werenka; defamation; infliction of emotional distress; false arrest; malicious prosecution; and municipal liability.

Werenka’s complaint said he has suffered physically and emotionally since the incident and arrest.

A city spokesperson, Maria Weeg, declined to comment, which is standard practice for pending litigation.

In his police report, Carter said Werenka did not leave the scene when he was asked to and interfered with Carter’s ability to conduct his investigation of the vehicle accident, according to previous Statesman reporting. Carter also said he feared for his safety because of Werenka’s “unusual behavior.”

Carter wrote that Werenka tensed his arm after Carter grabbed it, indicating he was resisting arrest. Werenka’s complaint denied this and accused the officer of defaming him.

Carter retired from the Police Department in March, according to the department’s spokesperson, Haley Williams. Carter could not be reached for comment.

In an interview, Werenka said he frequently has filmed police interactions since the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by police in Minneapolis. Werenka said he thinks it’s important to film police interactions for public accountability, and said that sometimes officers neglect to turn on their body cameras, and that he aims to make sure residents have a record of their interactions with police.

“When I see a weird situation that doesn’t really add up to me and the police are involved, I just think it’s good to film it for everybody’s safety,” Werenka said.

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” he added.

He added that the interaction “reconfirmed” things that he already believed about the department, mentioning the recently concluded independent investigation into Boise police, which found there have been issues with how officers in the department are promoted.

Werenka’s father is Black and his mother is white, he said.

“Just being a brown person in Idaho and having countless negative experiences with police, I’ve been in situations where I wish others had done the same for me,” Werenka previously told the Statesman. He said he thought it was “laughable” for Carter to say he felt threatened by Werenka.

Werenka said he worries Boise has been “quick to dismiss” situations like this, and said he hopes his lawsuit “will bring it to their attention a little bit more.”

In February, Police Chief Ron Winegar told KTVB that the video of the incident was “concerning” and said the department had launched an internal investigation.

On Thursday, Williams, the department spokesperson, said the investigation was finished and “appropriate action was taken.”