When Revocation was touring on Mayhem Fest 2014, they announced that drummer (and Metal Injection correspondent) Phil Dubois-Coyne had suffered a broken arm and the band hired fill-ins for Phil. It ended up being the end of Phil's time with Revocation, but we didn't quite know what caused his arm to break.
Today, we have answers. Phil's arm was broken was he was getting arrested, and the cops were using too much force. A new report from Oklahoma City's NewsOK.com states Phil sued the city and three police officers in 2016, alleging excessive force and false arrest. The trial was set to go to court next month, but both parties reached a settlement of $30,000 earlier this month.
Phil and an unidentified wingman were both reportedly chanting "Fuck the police" at an after party in Oklahoma City after another perform was being arrested. The officers claim they were trying to help an unidentified assault victim.
Police reported he was drunk and chanting at first, "F— the police," and then, "Kill the police."
"I felt this was beginning to incite actions against us and we were easily outnumbered by the crowd," one officer wrote in a crime report.
Phil was eventually arrested as well, and had his arm broken.
Dubois-Coyne spent about 12 hours in jail in 2014 after his broken arm was treated at a hospital. He pleaded no contest in Oklahoma City Municipal Court last November to the public drunkenness charge and paid $178. The other municipal charges against him were dismissed in 2015. [..]
In the lawsuit, attorneys argued his chanting was exercising his First Amendment rights. They argued he was resisting an unlawful arrest and was taken to the ground in a negligent and excessive manner. "Bystanders could hear the bone break," they told a judge.
Hefton acknowledged Dubois-Coyne and another performer were chanting, "F— the police" at the "Mayhem Fest" after-party in Oklahoma City. She explained, though, that they were just repeating the lyrics of a popular heavy metal song, "Cop Killer."
"They see the cops arresting the other guy and they just like started chanting that song," Hefton said. "There were no members of the public there. … They were walking away from the situation towards their bus. … And I guess some other people nearby may have started chanting but it didn't incite anyone and it wasn't meant to."
The arresting officer, Kenneth Lile, reported he first tried to calm Dubois-Coyne down and explained officers were just trying to help an assault victim. He reported Dubois-Coyne leaned in and yelled, "F— you, kill 'em all!"
The officer reported he had to take Dubois-Coyne to the ground because the drummer was resisting being handcuffed. "I got him up and he said his arm was broken. I could see his upper left arm did appear broken," the officer wrote. "The crowd around us began to get unruly."
The officer reported Dubois-Coyne "was yelling profanity, insults and threats towards me and my family."
Phil's lawyer notes that he still has a deformity from the injury as he opted against surgery, fearing nerve damage. He is currently working on a new project and is keeping busy being a drum tech for Cannibal Corpse.
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