Former Washtenaw County sheriff's deputy says rape allegation ruined his career
Former Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Kuhn says he thought the video camera in his patrol car would protect him.
A 48-year-old woman he was transporting to jail on Oct. 20, 2008 threatened to falsely claim to jail officers that Kuhn raped her, records show. She was arrested after she fled during a traffic stop in Superior Township.
The woman, Marianne Joseph, followed through on the threat. But Kuhn was backed by a 40-minute patrol car video that showed everything from the initial traffic stop to her fabricating the story.
“I figured if everything was on videotape, I was protected and everything was fine,” Kuhn said.
Marianne Joseph is shown in the back of the patrol car, and part of Deputy Eric Kuhn's uniform is visible in the foreground.
Joseph was charged with filing a false report of a felony and convicted six months later, county court records show. Kuhn sued her and won a $1 million default judgment two months ago when she failed to respond to the suit.
Within days of Joseph’s arrest, Kuhn said he was assured by former sheriff’s Cmdr. Marilyn Hall-Beard that no internal investigation would take place.
But it didn't end there, Kuhn alleges in a federal lawsuit against the county and sheriff's Lt. Jim Anuszkiewicz. Kuhn says he was subjected to an internal investigation, denied an extension of medical leave and fired.
The suit claims Anuszkiewicz, who is white, persisted with investigating Kuhn for “unprofessional conduct” in “whole or in part” because Kuhn is black. The internal investigation proceeded against the orders of Hall-Beard, a higher-ranking black employee, the suit says.
The lawsuit, pending since March, claims the county fired Kuhn in retaliation for a complaint he filed about being subjected to an improper internal investigation.
Kuhn says in the lawsuit he was fired after requesting an extension of unpaid medical leave he took because of "severe emotional stress" brought on by the internal investigation. Such extensions are routinely granted, Kuhn said.
In-car video cameras are "by far and away" advantageous to deputies, said Kuhn's attorney, Rick Convertino.
“They protect the officers and, of course, protect the public,” Convertino said. “It didn’t protect him because there was an agenda. This was agenda-driven, not fact-driven.”
Sheriff Jerry Clayton declined to comment on behalf of the sheriff’s department. The county is denying many of the allegations in the lawsuit, court records show, but has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
The arrest
Kuhn said he hadn't had any prior contact with Marianne Joseph when he pulled her over for driving erratically about 3:05 a.m. Oct. 20, 2008 near the intersection of Geddes and Ridge roads in Superior Township.
Upon being stopped, Joseph exited her car and walked up to Kuhn's patrol car, according to the video obtained by AnnArbor.com under the Freedom of Information Act.
She gave a false name and didn't immediately provide her driver's license, registration and proof of insurance, Kuhn said. After a male deputy and female deputy arrived on the scene, Kuhn gave Joseph permission to sit in her car because it was cold out, an incident report says.
“That’s when she took off,” Kuhn said.
Joseph made a U-turn, and deputies pursued her car to a nearby neighborhood where she lives, ultimately chasing her on foot, the report says. The other two deputies got to Joseph before Kuhn and found her standing on a deck, pounding on the back door of a Wexford Drive home, reports say.
Those deputies handcuffed Joseph, who was put in the back of Kuhn's patrol car so he could drive her to the county jail on Hogback Road, Kuhn said.
"Before we left, she was trying to kick the window out several times," he said. "She was yelling and screaming."
Kuhn kept his cool, the video shows, and made sure the camera was pointed at Joseph.
“Sometimes in those situations, the more you say, the worse the situation gets, so I just said as minimal as possible,” he said.
A ride to jail
On the video, Joseph can be heard yelling profanities, threatening to sue the police, saying she is going to vomit and complaining about a surgical procedure she reportedly had.
She asks Kuhn why she isn't belted in and demands he loosen her handcuffs. Then she starts making threats.
“Stop right now and take these (expletive) handcuffs off me right now or loosen them…” she says. “I will say you raped me."
She later says, "You were with me way too long, way, way too long. Got it? And you’re a black man and I’m a white woman. What’s gonna happen?”
Kuhn replies, “Nothing’s gonna happen. Everything is being recorded.”
After Kuhn drives inside a secure garage at the jail, Joseph tells officers who are helping her out of the car that Kuhn raped her.
"He raped me on my neighbor’s porch," she says.
According to an incident report, Joseph claimed to Sgt. Marlene Radzik that Kuhn raped her "between two houses when he was handcuffing me."
An internal investigation
Radzik quickly determined Joseph's allegation was false after interviewing Joseph, Kuhn and the other two deputies, and watching the in-car videos. She told Joseph charges would be sought against her, including for filing a false police report, the report says.
Kuhn and a union representative met several days later with Cmdr. Hall-Beard, he said.
"She said I handed myself appropriately, and (Joseph) would be charged," Kuhn said. "She informed me there would be no internal investigation."
Lt. Anuszkiewicz reviewed Radzik's findings on Oct. 24, 2008, records show.
Joseph went to an area hospital on her own, and a rape kit was sent to the Michigan State Police lab for DNA analysis on Oct. 24, 2008, records show. Results came back on Nov. 25, 2008, showing no evidence of a sexual assault, state police records show.
In a Dec. 12, 2008 e-mail from Hall-Beard to Anuszkiewicz, Hall-Beard questioned why Anuszkiewicz was pursuing an internal investigation for "unprofessional conduct."
"Please explain how the victim (Eric Kuhn) is now the person a complaint is being made against?" Hall-Beard wrote. "The woman makes an allegation of a crime against one of our deputy (sic), which means it was criminally investigated and it showed that she made a false statement (in other words she lied).
"She is the criminal, not the victim. She has no right to have a service complaint against one of our deputies."
It's unclear whether Anuszkiewicz responded to the e-mail.
Kuhn alleges Anuszkiewicz persisted with the internal investigation after Sheriff Dan Minzey left and Clayton took office.
On March 18, 2009, three months after Hall-Beard's e-mail, Kuhn received a letter from sheriff's Cmdr. Dieter Heren saying the internal investigation showed "the allegations were baseless." That day, Kuhn filed a complaint about how the internal investigation was handled. He received a letter on Nov. 23, 2009 from Undersheriff Mark Ptaszek that says "improper conduct" was found in the handling of the probe.
"Corrective action will be taken," the letter says without being more specific.
Kuhn said being fired in January, seven months after first taking medical leave, was the most difficult part of the experience. He said he never thought the Clayton administration wouldn't support him.
"The administration is what counts," he said.
Moving on
Marianne Joseph pleaded guilty on April 15, 2009 to filing a false report of a felony, court records show. She also pleaded no contest to third-degree fleeing and eluding, operating with an altered license and three counts of resisting and obstructing police, records show.
Joseph was sentenced by Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Archie Brown to two years of probation. Attempts by AnnArbor.com to reach Joseph were unsuccessful.
In a court-ordered apology letter to Kuhn on July 20, 2009, Joseph apologized for "making a false verbal statement."
"I do realize that you are a good man and you did not deserve this at all," the letter says. "Any man that puts himself out there day after day and risks his own life to protect and serve others is a very brave, caring individual that deserves to be honored, not disrespected as I did you."
Kuhn, 37, a married father of two, served the department for more than six years and said he had no disciplinary record. He is a graduate of Huron High School and the Washtenaw Community College Police Academy and said he built positive relationships with community members.
"I tried to help as many people as I could," he said. "I was willing to go above and beyond. There were a lot of sacrifices for my family. I worked a lot of hours."
Kuhn said he still has support from many former colleagues. He is enrolled at Oakland Community College and is studying to become an IT professional.
"At this point, I have no career," he said. "I have to start over. It's been challenging for my family, but we're finding a way to make it through."
Warning: This video contains profanity throughout.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and e-mail at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
Michael Schils
Mon, Sep 13, 2010 : 10:35 a.m.
Mr. Trooper, how exactly was the allegation "covered up" as you say? The hospital found no signs of a sexual assault and the woman admitted in court that she made it all up. Exactly what "shadow of a doubt" regarding the officer's innocence do you still have that you think needs to be investigated? Did you watch the video? What makes you so sure that the lieutenant's decision to continue the investigation in the face of this exonerating evidence WAS NOT racially motivated? Did you see that the sheriff's office admitted that "improper conduct" was found in the way the probe was handled?
YooperTrooper
Wed, Sep 8, 2010 : 2:43 a.m.
I'm not seeing how the rape allegation ruined Deputy Khun's career. Rape is a serious allegation. Deputy Khun would have been far better off to encourage a full investigtion than to seek to have the allegation "covered up." If, as the article suggests, he couldn't handle the "severe emotion stress" of having his good name cleared beyond any shadow of a doubt, and then makes claims of racism against his superiors after he's not allowed more than 7 months to recover from said stress... Well, that sounds like rather unprofessional conduct to me.
rrt911
Thu, Sep 2, 2010 : 1:49 p.m.
If these are the facts, this is truly sad.
Michael Schils
Thu, Sep 2, 2010 : 12:06 p.m.
The cameras don't always protect from lawsuits. Washtenaw County would have never paid $4 million to the family of Clifton Lee Jr. were it not for the car-mounted cameras that captured the actions of the officers. I'm also in favor of AnnArbor.com reporting on how many Law Enforcement vehicles in the area are equipped with cameras.
Awakened
Thu, Sep 2, 2010 : 5:35 a.m.
I was suprised to hear recently that most Ann Arbor police cars do not have video. It would seem that the cost to defend one lawsuit of this nature would out-strip the cost of the video. Perhaps AnnArbor.com could look into the reasoning at AAPD for NOT having video in all the cars. As traumatic as this incident is at least Mr. Kuhn knows that his honor is intact and we citizens did not have to pay lawyers to defend this bogus claim.
breadman
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 9:53 p.m.
After I heard this video... I know this Female is realy sick.. And to made a WCSD officer loose his job, and her get two years and still walk the streets something in wrong in the court system. A total bad rap on the Officer. Glad my Husband is done in that Sheriff Dept...RETIRED
Inside MI GOP
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 4:35 p.m.
Thank goodness for video cameras. I'm also disturbed that we all allowing someone to reside in Washtenaw County who has apparently no appreciation for such American literature as "To Kill a Mockingbird" and would traumatize a real "peace" officer with threat of lynching. Yes, LYNCHING is what her threat is really about. I suppose she could argue that she was too drunk or too disturbed for it to be a rational threat, but she was apparently reasoning enough to specify the threat within the racial context, so I think it is a fair presumption that she understood and intended the connotation that the officer could be lynched, and I think that we have to ask ourselves, had this woman not been cuffed in the back seat, what other means might she have used to do harm to this officer or any other person. There is just something really dangerous about people who behave this way and I don't think she should be walking the street. I don't think I've ever seen a videotape where an officer behaved better and a drunk behaved worse.
robyn
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 1:22 p.m.
Something is missing here: the grounds for termination. I really feel bad for Officer Kuhn, false allegations of rape can be as harmful as actually comitting a rape. Once the 'stain' is there - it never really goes away. I can see why there would be stress and perhaps an inability to perform one's job with an investigation like this hanging over his head. ANYTHING he did could have been questioned due to the allegations. The fact that any female he has contact with while on duty could be looked at more closely would hamper his ability to do his job. I do think there is more to this story and I do hope that annarbor.com will make it a point to update this story as new information is made available - or do a more thourough investigation.
Jay Thomas
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 12:41 p.m.
If Clayton let Kuhn go over this then his head should now be on the chopping block. We need more information... that's for sure.
Rasputin
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 12:40 p.m.
The county has some explaining to do with regard to the real reason Mr. Kuhn was let go. As for Marianne Joseph, I hope she got the counseling she needed.
scooter dog
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 12:07 p.m.
There is a lawyer in pinckney,mi named James Fett. Mr kuhn needs to file a big time lawsuit against the county and get his job back
Justice19
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 11:01 a.m.
What Deputy Kuhn went through is horrific! As a community we should be glad that we have some Deputies that act with integrity! Professionally I have always known Deputy Kuhn to be fair and behave appropriately. He should not have had to go through this, he was a very good deputy. They County should give him his job back(if he wants it after how he was treated). It further amazes me that people have the nerve to say that there is more to the story or that there had to be another reason the man was fired. I call it blatant racism, based on what I have read.
just a voice
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 10:09 a.m.
Wait one minute, shouldn't this all be on the shoulders of the Sheriff?? Clayton is cleary the top man there, and the responsiblity for this travesty should fall at his feet. I would love to know what Kuhn meant about the comment of the Clayton admin, would it have been different with Minzey, is that what he meant?
Trouble
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 10:03 a.m.
Unless there is unknown reason for fire him... give job back or lots of taxpayer dollars. Your Choice!
JGS
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 9:44 a.m.
In case anyone wants to email the LT and get his side of the story you can do that here: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/sheriff/about-us/sub-stations You can also familiarize yourself with the WCSD here: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/sheriff Tragic case, but there are always two sides to a story.
Cash
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 9:32 a.m.
Article serves no real purpose because the whole point is that he was fired. However, nowhere in it does it say why he was really fired. Could have been completely unrelated to the incident the lawyer is addressing. Way too many assumptions going on here.
mw
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 9:32 a.m.
"This woman's actions are disgusting, and they undermine the effort to report and prosecute actual rapes. Shame on her. Two years of probation is a slap on the wrist for this." That's the least of it. A false accusation of rape is an act of sexual violence using the state as the weapon. Consider what might have happened to officer Kuhn without the video. Had he been prosecuted and convicted, he would have spent years in prison and then the rest of his life on the sex-offenders list with bleak life prospects and strict limits on where he was allowed to live. Even if the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence, and he had 'merely' been accused but with no conclusive proof of innocence, his career might have been ruined (as it may have been anyway). Convictions for false accusations like this should be punished every bit as severely as rape itself -- a felony with a long prison sentence and a place on the sex offenders list.
Cash
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 9:28 a.m.
@ordmad, "@ Cash: Stop blaming the lawyer." Is it not the lawyer who is making these statements in the media? He could do exactly as Sheriff Clayton has done....let it play out in court. Convertino has an overzealous history. Goggle him if you don't recall it. It's very possibly potential jurists read this article. And from many of the posts here, people actually do believe what they read without considering that a picture is being painted of one side on an issue.....and it may or may not be accurate.
Linda
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 9:06 a.m.
Officer Kuhn deserves to be rehired by the county. This whole video shows a drunk women threating an officer with rape. Kuhn was a good police officer and dare say we need more like him. Sheriff Clayton should have made sure this deputy kept his job. As for all the family medical leave stuff, thats garbage. Rehire this deputy and give him his life back that was taken from him. No wonder good cops go bad if they are treated this way. The county can still make all this right by letting deputy Kuhn back on the force. Shame on all that let this happen.
boom
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 8:53 a.m.
The deputy showed remarkable restraint in not responding to her while she was babbling on in the back of the car. His reply, nothing's going to happen, everything is being recorded, was perfect.
ordmad
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 8:41 a.m.
@ Cash: Stop blaming the lawyer. I know folks love to do it, but if you read this carefully (and pick up the link early on to the original story about this suit), you'll see that coverage of the suit against the County was instigated by this website. If you were to file a newsworthy lawsuit against the County or the City, the newspaper picks up on it (court records are public after all) and decides whether to cover it. If they do, the first stop is to call the lawyers for the parties and ask for comments.
krc
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 8:23 a.m.
Did I miss something? Obviously she was too out of control to do a sobriety test in the field, but from what I understand, when someone like this enters booking, they are forced to give blood to determine the amount of ETOH in their bloodstream. It sure sounds to me like she was under the influence of something. And was it her neighbor's porch? Did the neighbor respond? This isn't clear from the report, except in her accusation and I don't believe a word of it. Sounds to me like the deputy was railroaded. But hopefully everything will come out in the wash. As for you, miss Joseph, too little too late.
1201SouthMain
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 7:51 a.m.
Townie, There isn't a part of you that feels like there is a piece to this story that is missing?
Gomab
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 7:48 a.m.
First point I would like to make is that if it is custom to give extensions of leave using FMLA, then why was Kuhn denied leave? Even if they didn't want to grant an extended paid leave, they could have did an unpaid leave, but to out right deny any sort of FMLA leave raises questions and concerns to me. It is clear that most people commenting, are more than likely individuals within this department, that has a certain bias due to the fact that they may be implicated in the suit. Well everyone has a right to there opinion. I guess for those that want to comment, as long as these kinds of things don't happened to the individual that is on the outside looking in, they will always have something to say, not being supportive. Anyone who wheres a uniform to protect and serve, not having a recording of over stepping there derived authority as ex. deputy Kuhn, to enforce the law, should not be denied leave on any basis, for there is a certain level of stress that comes with the Job that the general public will not understand. When your own colleges, be it supervisors, administrators, or managers come against those that are actually in the field doing the work, then it is tragic, out of order, and very sad. How is any officer/deputy that is expected to protect and serve, continue in such a capacity to protect and serve, when they are not protect themselves by those in the upward chain of command? Our tax dollars pay for public servants to server and protect, and for they themselves to be protected. So when we comment about the wasteful spending of our tax dollars, make sure you look full circle and not tunnel minded, because those in authority also have and obligation to insure that uniformity and correctness is followed at all times. If it is not, then there is a violation. Those that they violate have every right to be remedied. Rights is as Rights does. If you are wick, then you will be rewarded with wick. Its called Karma, and no one likes it when it shows up on there door steps. So watch whom you judge, judge yourself first. Where ever the wrong is, it will not go without punishment, for we all have to answer to what we do or don't do, say or don't say on some level or another. Keep your head up Mr. Kuhn
Gorc
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 6:34 a.m.
Mr. Higgins....do you know the official reason the County Sheriff's department terminated Officer Kuhn's employment? Aa I am reading the article the county's reasoning for the termination is not reported. I am guessing he was let go because he exhausted his 84 days of Family Medical Leave (FMLA). The article is only reporting one side of the story behind the termination.
Cash
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 5:34 a.m.
I commend Sheriff Clayton for not allowing this case to be tried in the media. The obvious missing link is why he was really fired. This kind of media attention has what purpose? If you have such an sure case as claimed in this article and your client was so mistreated, why not wait until you get to court, Mr Convertino? You've clearly got an open and shut case, right? You'll get a juicy settlement from taxpayers without the hard work and cost of a trial right? I don't like being played. The more I see a lawyer try his case in the media, the less I believe what I read.
annarbortownie
Wed, Sep 1, 2010 : 5:32 a.m.
Knowing only what I have read in this article I can only conclude that Ms. Joseph deserves to be in jail. Officer Kuhn was put through a terrible investigation based on the false accusations of this woman. It sounds like he handled the situation very well. We should be happy to have honest, calm, responsible people working for the sheriffs dept and not attack them based on the rants of an angry person who is mad they were arrested. Give Officer Kuhn his job back and investigate Lt. Jim Anuszkiewicz.!!!