Did City of Seattle Convince a Cop to Lie to Avoid Liability?

Channary Hor went on a first date with Omar Tamman in May of 2006. It would forever change her life.

Seattle police officers Adam Thorp and Aaron Grant were routinely checking Seward Park after closing time, where Omar and Channary had parked by the lake. Officer Thorp approached the vehicle, and Omar, who had a minor warrant for his arrest, panicked and left the park quickly. With Officer Grant in the lead, the two gave chase out of the park, something that should never have happened under City of Seattle statutes or police department policies.

And this is where the story gets sticky. At trial, Officer Grant testified he was not in pursuit and did not have his lights on. Hor and other witnesses say the police actually did, resulting in Tamman losing control of the car, crashing into a wall and paralyzing Hor from the neck down.

Channary Hor

Hor’s attorney, Colleen Durkin Peterson, pursued a four-week trial in 2013. The jury found Tamman negligent but not the City of Seattle for the actions of the police officers. Though Hor won a $17.4 million judgment against Tamman, this did little to help Hor since Omar is incarcerated and could not pay the judgement. Hor now requires 24/7 care and completely relies on her sister and elderly mother for help.

“The ironic thing is I’ve received nothing financially. It actually made things worse for me. I felt lost and alone,” Hor said.

Four years after the original verdict, in 2017, Officer Arron Grant killed himself. At the time he was a Lakewood, WA police officer. The Tacoma News Tribune quoted colleagues as saying Grant felt guilty for testifying falsely about pursuing the vehicle Hor was riding in. In other words, colleagues were saying he felt guilty for lying on the stand thus exonerating the City of Seattle from liability.

Officer Arron Grant

Attorney Durkin Peterson obtained sworn testimony from Grant’s fellow officers, reporting what Grant told them about being coerced by City of Seattle attorneys and lying on the stand about when he had turned on his emergency lights and whether he was chasing the fleeing vehicle.

Durkin Peterson said, “We cannot have a fair trial when witnesses don’t tell the truth.”

Hor then asked for the judgement dismissing her case to be reversed. But the trial judge refused saying what Grant told fellow officers was hearsay and denying the motion for a new trial.

Durkin Petersen said, “We believed the decision was a misapplication of the law, so we appealed.”

Hor won the appeal. Division One of the Court of Appeals said the trial judge got it wrong and Officer Grant’s statements were admissible.

What’s fascinating about this case is that these kinds of judgements are rarely overturned. On Friday, December 23rd, Attorney Durkin Peterson will be in King County Superior Court trying to secure the right for Hor to get a new trial based on the appellate court decision.

“Our justice system is not infallible. We’re trying to correct a very clear wrong here. The results of this have been just devastating for Channary Hor, and honestly for the Grant family,” said Durkin Peterson.

“My life literally changed overnight. For 13 years Colleen has been fighting for me. I’m really hoping justice gets served this time around,” Hor said.