Provo police say arrest, force proper

PROVO — The bruises on Chris Lauridsen's shoulders and back may be fading, but his frustration is not.

It's actually expanding, especially after reading Provo police's investigative review of his arrest on Feb 2. The review says police conducted the arrest properly.

"As far as the report, they have outright lied about every aspect of the arrest," Lauridsen, 56, said. "They have taken the information they have and concocted a scenario to fit into it."

Lauridsen has contacted the FBI and asked them to investigate and was told they would. He also hired an attorney.

On Feb. 2, Lauridsen and his wife had stepped into a bank in downtown Provo briefly, leaving their two dogs in the car on a 40-degree day.

Police responded to the bank on a citizen's call of animal cruelty and when Lauridsen went to talk with the officer, he was initially hesitant to provide information, telling the officer there was no abuse and that she should leave.

The officer called for back-up and responding officers confronted Lauridsen.

He says they ended up beating him several times with a nightstick to gain compliance and place him under arrest. Lauridsen can't remember all the details after being hit and said he may have fought back, but maintains he was hit first.

After a weeks-long review, Provo Police Capt. Cliff Argyle said the report confirms that proper procedures were followed for both the investigation and the arrest.

"Our officers did a thorough investigation, that's what we expect them to do," Argyle said of the officers involved in the confrontation. "(The officer was) just trying to check welfare on the animals and Mr. Lauridsen comes out very hostile and uncooperative. If he would have been cooperative from the start, the investigation would have only lasted a few minutes and … (ended) in a much more satisfactory fashion."

None of the officers involved were suspended, but Argyle couldn't comment on any specific disciplinary action taken.

And although justified in their actions, Argyle acknowledged that with frustrated, not dangerous residents, calling for a supervisor rather than back-up is often better.

"In our experience in the past, having a supervisor respond helps the situation end in a more favorable fashion," Argyle said.