The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is being sued by a man deputies shot in October 2018 at the Fun Farm north of Bend.
A lawsuit filed by Brandon Berrett this month in Deschutes County Circuit Court alleges Deputy Christopher Jones and fellow deputies were poorly trained and used excessive force after the shooting, The Bulletin reported.
District Attorney John Hummel has already determined Berrett drove at Jones, which justified Jones firing two shots at Berrett, striking him once. Berrett is seeking $727,000.
“He continues to suffer persistent, constant and severe pain to all areas in which he sustained injuries,” Berrett’s attorney, Janie Mogensen, wrote in the complaint.
Jones as well as Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson are named as defendants in the suit. Jones died in a motorcycle crash last year.
The Fun Farm — long called the Funny Farm — was a roadside attraction featuring a costume shop and extensive collection of “The Wizard of Oz” memorabilia. Upkeep lagged as the site’s surviving owner aged and the site became host to criminal activity, according to documents related to the Berrett shooting.
At the time of the shooting, Berrett’s father was a caretaker who lived there in a trailer.
Berrett was inside the trailer when five officers arrived on Oct. 12, 2018, to take him into custody on an arrest warrant. Berrett fled to an idling car and Jones fired twice into the driver side window as it passed him inches away, police said.
Berrett’s attorneys have said he was attempting to pass Jones, not strike him, and was driving slowly.
After Berrett was shot, deputies placed him on the ground, face-down, and cuffed his hands.
Berrett was shot in the upper back, causing a collapsed lung and other internal injuries, documents said. He was hospitalized then transferred to jail and charged with seven felonies related to the incident.
Berrett pleaded no contest to reckless endangerment, escape and driving under the influence of intoxicants, and was sentenced to 60 days jail.
Since his release, he’s been arrested four times in Central Oregon.
A sheriff’s office spokesman said the sheriff’s office “believes the plaintiff’s claims are without merit and intends to defend this matter vigorously.”