Ada County wrongfully detained Kuna man. Deputies now required to learn from his case

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

The case dates to January 2023, when Mick Heikkola, now 70, went to the Kuna police station to dispose of expired medication at its prescription drug disposal box.

At the station, he found himself detained for more than four hours after a “humiliating” physical interaction with Ada County deputies, and he was forced to endure a lengthy interrogation on a misdemeanor charge that was never officially filed.

The city of Star contracts with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office for its police services.

“It was pretty emotional because I had just taken my wife’s car to drop off the medicine and get an oil change and tires rotated, 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, Ada County said it would pay $250,000 in financial compensation to Heikkola and make a public statement about the outcome, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The department also will train all incoming and existing deputies on how to handle scenarios similar to Heikkola’s, and on how to address incoming inmates’ personal hygiene needs, according to Wrest Collective, the law firm representing the man.

The county will have to provide a record of compliance to Heikkola every two years, Wrest Collective attorney Ritchie Eppink told the Statesman.

The county had not released its public statement on the case as of Tuesday at 3 p.m.

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

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

Because the incident took place at the police station, Heikkola was able to obtain video footage and shared it with the Statesman.

In it, Heikkola was seen parking 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 that the man was Ada County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Keen, who was wearing plain clothes.

Heikkola said the man shouted at him, asking why he was looking into “our cars.” Heikkola responded that they were his cars, too.

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

Keen persisted and demanded that Heikkola show him his hands, to which Heikkola responded with an expletive before walking toward the police station door, according to the complaint. The exchange lasted about 15 seconds, according to the security footage.

Additional video showed Heikkola depositing the medication when officers rushed in. At least six officers pinned Heikkola’s arms behind his back. They ordered him out of the building and pushed Heikkola up against an outdoor railing, causing him to soil himself because he recently had invasive surgery, according to the complaint.

Law enforcement never allowed him to clean himself up.

Officers searched him for weapons and interrogated him in a room without reading him his Miranda rights, the complaint said.

Heikkola said Deputy Justin Philylaw told him that he was under arrest, and he was driven to the Ada County Jail. Heikkola was told he was arrested for “resisting or obstructing” law enforcement, but deputies never filed an official complaint, according to court documents.

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

Dean said none of Heikkola’s actions or statements rose “to the level of reasonable suspicion,” adding that even though “his language may have been colorful,” Heikkola was not required to speak with officers or obey a command to remove his hands from his pockets.

“Neither Mick Heikkola nor any other Idahoan should ever be put through anything like this,” Eppink said in a news release. “Though nothing can make right a wrongful 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 liberties carries an intolerable price.”