Lt. colonel with brain injury was handcuffed, considers suit
Written by
Jason Riley
Courier Journal.com
10:36 PM, Sep 22, 2012
Decorated Kentucky guardsman speaks out after police take down: The incident has resulted in an internal police investigation, questioning from Fort Knox officials, and a potential lawsuit. It also has prompted a mandatory training program for police on how to deal with veterans coming home with PTSD.
The man’s clothes were dusty, and he had difficulty speaking. Questioned by a Louisville Metro Police officer inside Mid-City Mall, he couldn’t provide his own address.
Judging the man to be a homeless panhandler, the police officer asked him to leave, and a confrontation ensued — a Taser was drawn, other officers were called and the man was taken down and handcuffed for several minutes.
But the man cuffed and threatened with jail in the Jan. 29 incident was neither homeless nor panhandling. He was a Purple Heart and multiple Bronze Star recipient and a Kentucky National Guard lieutenant colonel going on a routine errand.
Lt. Col. Donald Blake Settle has a poor memory and difficulty speaking as the result of injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, incurred in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan and a vehicle rollover. And on this day, he had stopped to chat with an acquaintance while shopping for a gift card.
His case has resulted in an internal police investigation, sharp questioning from Fort Knox officials, and a potential lawsuit. But it also has prompted a new mandatory training program for police on how to deal with military veterans coming home with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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