
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 7, 1994                   TAG: 9409070132
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Short

JUDGES CLEAR DEPUTY OF EXCESSIVE-FORCE CHARGE

A federal appeals panel Tuesday reversed a judge's ruling that a Wythe County deputy sheriff used excessive force arresting a man a police dispatcher had described as a ``Rambo type.''

Deputy Keith Dunagan drew his gun on Ira I. Foote Jr. on April 13, 1988, and tried to grab his keys and pull him from his pickup truck when Foote tried to drive off.

None of those actions violated Foote's constitutional rights, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said. They reversed U.S. District Judge Jackson L. Kiser's ruling that awarded Foote $10 damages.

Dunagan noticed Foote driving in a rural area. He suspected Foote, in camouflage clothing, was hunting turkey out of season. Dunagan radioed for a check of Foote's vehicle license and was told the owner of the truck was wanted in connection with an assault in Mecklenburg County and should be considered an armed and dangerous ``Rambo type.''

Under those circumstances, the appeals court said, the deputy's actions were reasonable.

by CNB