Idaho man in viral arrest alleged ‘excessive’ force. What he could do next
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- A Meridian man filed a tort claim alleging excessive force by a Meridian officer.
- The viral 2024 arrest left the man with $750K in injuries and damages, the claim says.
- The man appealed a guilty verdict for resisting arrest; lawsuit still possible.
A young man who was arrested last June in a viral police encounter has put the city of Meridian and the arresting officer on legal notice for allegedly violating his constitutional rights.
In December, Samson Allen, 22, of Meridian filed a tort claim against the city and former Meridian police officer Bradley Chambers seeking damages related to “severe and irreparable physical, mental and emotional injuries” caused during the arrest.
The claim highlights a potential path forward for Allen, who was found guilty May 7 by a jury in magistrate court of misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and obstructing justice. He appealed the verdict on May 23 to district court.
Tort claims are typically filed as a precursor to a lawsuit and must be filed within 180 days of the incident. Allen has not sued and has until June 30, 2026 to do so.
Allen was arrested on June 30, 2024, after his younger brother was involved in a dirt-bike accident on Ensenada Drive in North Meridian. After Allen and another brother loaded the bike into Allen’s truck, Chambers approached the brothers and ordered them to remove it. Allen refused to comply. Chambers grabbed his wrist, forced him to the ground, and pressed his knee to Allen’s neck. He held it there for nearly a minute.
Videos of the arrest circulated online, sparking public outcry over the use of force and an internal review of Chambers’ actions. The review concluded that Chambers acted in accordance with department policy and the law, Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea told the Idaho Statesman, but Allen’s tort claim alleges otherwise.
Claim alleges excessive force
The claim alleged that Chambers “possessed no probable cause nor any seasonable suspicion” that Allen was committing a crime and that Chambers’ use of force was “unnecessary, unreasonable, and excessive.”
The defendants’ “acts, omissions and policies” violated Allen’s Fourth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights, according to a copy of the tort claim obtained by the Statesman. Both amendments are often invoked in excessive force lawsuits, as the Fourth protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fourteenth guarantees due process.
According to the claim, Allen experienced traumatic brain injury, back and neck injuries, cuts and bruises, and mental trauma due to the arrest and sought damages to the tune of $750,000 for treatment, as well as “lost wages and reduced income-earning capacity.”
The claim also said 10 unnamed police officers in Idaho Falls could become defendants along with Chambers and the city of Meridian. The officers were involved in the 2020 arrest of an Idaho Falls man, Tony Irvine, who later sued the officers and department for excessive force. Jessica Clement, a public information officer for the Idaho Falls Police Department, told the Statesman that she believed her department has no connection to Allen’s arrest and has not received a tort claim to her knowledge.
“We have no authority over the Meridian police officers ... or jurisdiction or anything over Meridian and what happens there,” Clement said by phone. She suspected an error in the claim.
Ryan Black, the attorney who filed the complaint on Allen’s behalf on Dec. 17, told the Statesman on Thursday that he was unable to comment on the claim, citing attorney-client privilege and the fact that the decision to sue falls to Allen.
Meridian man appeals guilty verdict
Allen has just over a year to decide if he wishes to sue. His tort claim indicates a possible legal strategy, similar to the argument Black made on Allen’s behalf at his criminal trial. Black argued that Chambers’ commands were unlawful and that he acted outside of his “course and scope of his duties as a law enforcement officer.”
In a statement before being sentenced on May 7, Allen told the judge that he didn’t agree with the jury’s guilty verdict and found it “very disheartening to see that this is the standard for our supposed protectors.”
Allen was sentenced to three months of unsupervised probation for resisting and obstructing.
According to court documents obtained by the Statesman, Black’s appeal highlighted two questions about the trial: whether there was sufficient evidence to find Allen guilty and whether the court should have instructed jurors differently.
Black filed a motion to withdraw as counsel for Allen, who requested a state appellate public defender for the appeal on Tuesday. The appeal was assigned to the Fourth Judicial District in Ada County, to be presided over by Gerald Schroeder, a retired former chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
