Ada County has reached a settlement with an arrested Kuna man. Part of the training for all MPs

Ada County has reached a settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a Kuna man who was unlawfully detained for hours, and the Sheriff’s Office will use the case to implement new training.

The case dates back to January 2023, when Mick Heikkola went to the Kuna Police Station to dispose of expired medications in a prescription drug container.

He was detained at the police station for more than four hours after a “humiliating” physical interaction with Ada County officers and forced to endure a lengthy interrogation on misdemeanor charges that were never officially filed.

The City of Star contracts with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office to provide police services.

“It was very emotional because I had just taken my wife’s car to get some medicine, change the oil, change the tires, and four hours later I called her and told her I was in jail,” Heikkola previously told the Idaho Statesman. “It was horrible, it was humiliating.”

In a settlement agreement reached late Monday evening, Ada County said it would pay Heikkola $250,000 in monetary compensation and issue a public statement of the outcome, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The department will also train all new and current deputies on how to handle scenarios similar to Heikkola’s and how to address the hygiene needs of new inmates, according to Wrest Collective, the law firm representing the man.

As Wrest Collective attorney Ritchie Eppink told the Statesman, the county will have to provide Heikkola with documentation every two years proving compliance with the rules.

As of Tuesday at 3 p.m., the county had not issued a public statement on the matter

Through his lawyer, Heikkola told the Statesman that the public statement was an important part of the settlement because it “demonstrates transparency and accountability.”

“I am pleased with the outcome and confident that the changes made to Ada County Sheriff’s Office training will prevent similar situations from happening to others,” Heikkola said in a news release.

Because the incident took place at a police station, Heikkola was able to obtain video footage and share it with the “statesman.”

The photo shows Heikkola parked next to two patrol SUVs, which he examined for about 30 seconds before an unmarked white vehicle pulled up and a man got out. Heikkola said he later learned the man was Ada County Sheriff’s Sergeant Brian Keen, who was wearing civilian clothes.

Heikkola said the man yelled at him, asking why he was looking into “our cars.” Heikkola replied that they were also his cars.

“I know that as taxpayers we pay taxes for these cars,” Heikkola told the Statesman.

The complaint states that Keen persisted and demanded that Heikkola show him his hands, to which Heikkola responded with an expletive before walking toward the police station door. The surveillance recording shows that the exchange of words lasted about 15 seconds.

Additional video shows Heikkola putting away his medication when officers burst inside. At least six officers pinned his hands behind his back. They ordered him to leave the building and pushed Heikkola against a railing outside, causing him to soil himself because, according to the complaint, he had recently undergone invasive surgery.

Law enforcement never allowed him to wash himself.

According to the complaint, officers searched him for weapons and questioned him in the room without reviewing his Miranda rights.

Heikkola said Deputy Justin Philylaw told him he was under arrest and he was taken to the Ada County Jail. Heikkola was told he was arrested for “resisting or obstructing” law enforcement, but court documents show deputies never filed a formal complaint.

Ada County Magistrate Judge Michael Dean ruled in Heikkola’s favor last August, dismissing the lawsuit against him and noting that any evidence would be suppressed because it was obtained illegally.

Dean said that none of Heikkola’s actions or statements rose to the “level of reasonable suspicion,” adding that while “his language may have been colorful,” Heikkola did not have to talk to officers or obey commands to remove his hands from his pockets.

“Neither Mick Heikkola nor any other Idahoan should ever have to go through something like this,” Eppink said in a news release. “While nothing can remedy an unlawful and unconstitutional arrest, this settlement will remind Ada County and its law enforcement officers that they are not above the law and that the violation of individual liberty comes at an intolerable cost.”