Former Washtenaw County sheriff's deputy says rape allegation ruined his career

Former Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Kuhn says he thought the video camera in his patrol car would protect him.

A 48-year-old woman he was transporting to jail on Oct. 20, 2008 threatened to falsely claim to jail officers that Kuhn raped her, records show. She was arrested after she fled during a traffic stop in Superior Township.

The woman, Marianne Joseph, followed through on the threat. But Kuhn was backed by a 40-minute patrol car video that showed everything from the initial traffic stop to her fabricating the story.

“I figured if everything was on videotape, I was protected and everything was fine,” Kuhn said.

Marianne Joseph is shown in the back of the patrol car, and part of Deputy Eric Kuhn's uniform is visible in the foreground.

Joseph was charged with filing a false report of a felony and convicted six months later, county court records show. Kuhn sued her and won a $1 million default judgment two months ago when she failed to respond to the suit.

Within days of Joseph’s arrest, Kuhn said he was assured by former sheriff’s Cmdr. Marilyn Hall-Beard that no internal investigation would take place.

But it didn't end there, Kuhn alleges in a federal lawsuit against the county and sheriff's Lt. Jim Anuszkiewicz. Kuhn says he was subjected to an internal investigation, denied an extension of medical leave and fired.

The suit claims Anuszkiewicz, who is white, persisted with investigating Kuhn for “unprofessional conduct” in “whole or in part” because Kuhn is black. The internal investigation proceeded against the orders of Hall-Beard, a higher-ranking black employee, the suit says.

The lawsuit, pending since March, claims the county fired Kuhn in retaliation for a complaint he filed about being subjected to an improper internal investigation.

Kuhn says in the lawsuit he was fired after requesting an extension of unpaid medical leave he took because of "severe emotional stress" brought on by the internal investigation. Such extensions are routinely granted, Kuhn said.

In-car video cameras are "by far and away" advantageous to deputies, said Kuhn's attorney, Rick Convertino.

“They protect the officers and, of course, protect the public,” Convertino said. “It didn’t protect him because there was an agenda. This was agenda-driven, not fact-driven.”

Sheriff Jerry Clayton declined to comment on behalf of the sheriff’s department. The county is denying many of the allegations in the lawsuit, court records show, but has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.

The arrest

Kuhn said he hadn't had any prior contact with Marianne Joseph when he pulled her over for driving erratically about 3:05 a.m. Oct. 20, 2008 near the intersection of Geddes and Ridge roads in Superior Township.

Upon being stopped, Joseph exited her car and walked up to Kuhn's patrol car, according to the video obtained by AnnArbor.com under the Freedom of Information Act.

She gave a false name and didn't immediately provide her driver's license, registration and proof of insurance, Kuhn said. After a male deputy and female deputy arrived on the scene, Kuhn gave Joseph permission to sit in her car because it was cold out, an incident report says.

“That’s when she took off,” Kuhn said.

Joseph made a U-turn, and deputies pursued her car to a nearby neighborhood where she lives, ultimately chasing her on foot, the report says. The other two deputies got to Joseph before Kuhn and found her standing on a deck, pounding on the back door of a Wexford Drive home, reports say.

Those deputies handcuffed Joseph, who was put in the back of Kuhn's patrol car so he could drive her to the county jail on Hogback Road, Kuhn said.

"Before we left, she was trying to kick the window out several times," he said. "She was yelling and screaming."

Kuhn kept his cool, the video shows, and made sure the camera was pointed at Joseph.

“Sometimes in those situations, the more you say, the worse the situation gets, so I just said as minimal as possible,” he said.

A ride to jail

On the video, Joseph can be heard yelling profanities, threatening to sue the police, saying she is going to vomit and complaining about a surgical procedure she reportedly had.

She asks Kuhn why she isn't belted in and demands he loosen her handcuffs. Then she starts making threats.

“Stop right now and take these (expletive) handcuffs off me right now or loosen them…” she says. “I will say you raped me."

She later says, "You were with me way too long, way, way too long. Got it? And you’re a black man and I’m a white woman. What’s gonna happen?”

Kuhn replies, “Nothing’s gonna happen. Everything is being recorded.”

After Kuhn drives inside a secure garage at the jail, Joseph tells officers who are helping her out of the car that Kuhn raped her.

"He raped me on my neighbor’s porch," she says.

According to an incident report, Joseph claimed to Sgt. Marlene Radzik that Kuhn raped her "between two houses when he was handcuffing me."

An internal investigation

Radzik quickly determined Joseph's allegation was false after interviewing Joseph, Kuhn and the other two deputies, and watching the in-car videos. She told Joseph charges would be sought against her, including for filing a false police report, the report says.

Kuhn and a union representative met several days later with Cmdr. Hall-Beard, he said.

"She said I handed myself appropriately, and (Joseph) would be charged," Kuhn said. "She informed me there would be no internal investigation."

Lt. Anuszkiewicz reviewed Radzik's findings on Oct. 24, 2008, records show.

Joseph went to an area hospital on her own, and a rape kit was sent to the Michigan State Police lab for DNA analysis on Oct. 24, 2008, records show. Results came back on Nov. 25, 2008, showing no evidence of a sexual assault, state police records show.

In a Dec. 12, 2008 e-mail from Hall-Beard to Anuszkiewicz, Hall-Beard questioned why Anuszkiewicz was pursuing an internal investigation for "unprofessional conduct."

"Please explain how the victim (Eric Kuhn) is now the person a complaint is being made against?" Hall-Beard wrote. "The woman makes an allegation of a crime against one of our deputy (sic), which means it was criminally investigated and it showed that she made a false statement (in other words she lied).

"She is the criminal, not the victim. She has no right to have a service complaint against one of our deputies."

It's unclear whether Anuszkiewicz responded to the e-mail.

Kuhn alleges Anuszkiewicz persisted with the internal investigation after Sheriff Dan Minzey left and Clayton took office.

On March 18, 2009, three months after Hall-Beard's e-mail, Kuhn received a letter from sheriff's Cmdr. Dieter Heren saying the internal investigation showed "the allegations were baseless." That day, Kuhn filed a complaint about how the internal investigation was handled. He received a letter on Nov. 23, 2009 from Undersheriff Mark Ptaszek that says "improper conduct" was found in the handling of the probe.

"Corrective action will be taken," the letter says without being more specific.

Kuhn said being fired in January, seven months after first taking medical leave, was the most difficult part of the experience. He said he never thought the Clayton administration wouldn't support him.

"The administration is what counts," he said.

Moving on

Marianne Joseph pleaded guilty on April 15, 2009 to filing a false report of a felony, court records show. She also pleaded no contest to third-degree fleeing and eluding, operating with an altered license and three counts of resisting and obstructing police, records show.

Joseph was sentenced by Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Archie Brown to two years of probation. Attempts by AnnArbor.com to reach Joseph were unsuccessful.

In a court-ordered apology letter to Kuhn on July 20, 2009, Joseph apologized for "making a false verbal statement."

"I do realize that you are a good man and you did not deserve this at all," the letter says. "Any man that puts himself out there day after day and risks his own life to protect and serve others is a very brave, caring individual that deserves to be honored, not disrespected as I did you."

Kuhn, 37, a married father of two, served the department for more than six years and said he had no disciplinary record. He is a graduate of Huron High School and the Washtenaw Community College Police Academy and said he built positive relationships with community members.

"I tried to help as many people as I could," he said. "I was willing to go above and beyond. There were a lot of sacrifices for my family. I worked a lot of hours."

Kuhn said he still has support from many former colleagues. He is enrolled at Oakland Community College and is studying to become an IT professional.

"At this point, I have no career," he said. "I have to start over. It's been challenging for my family, but we're finding a way to make it through."

Warning: This video contains profanity throughout.