Two Coquille Police officers won’t be charged in an arrest attempt that broke a man’s neck, a Coos County grand jury has ruled.

On Friday, in a 6-1 vote, the grand jury decided no charges should be leveled against James Bryant and Chris Webley, following their attempted arrest of Carl T. Foster, 57, of Coquille.

As a result of the Jan. 12 incident, in which the officers took the man to the ground, Foster suffered a fractured neck, leaving him a quadriplegic and dependent on a respirator to breathe. The officers had attempted to arrest Foster that morning on charges stemming from a Jan. 11 incident in which a vehicle driven by Lucille Phillips, 80, had been attacked. The windshield was smashed and other damage had been done to the car.

“My review reveals that there was sufficient probable cause to believe that Mr. Foster committed the crime of criminal mischief in the second degree for his act of throwing a coffee cup at the car and damaging the molding around the front driver’s door of Ms. Phillips’ car. ..,.” Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said in a press release this morning.

According to the press release, Frasier chose not to charge the officers for a number of reasons, following an investigation by the Major Incident and Crimes Team, as well as by Michael Janin, an expert on the use of police force. Investigators concluded the officers had probable cause to arrest Foster, that Foster had resisted arrest and took a swing at Webley, and that the officers used an accepted method to take down the man.

“While the officers indicated that they thought Mr. Foster’s chest hit the ground first, the injury he suffered suggests that his chin also hit the ground hard and thus hyper-extended his neck towards his back,” the press release states.

Also, a doctor at Sacred Heart Medical Center, where Foster later underwent surgery, revealed a pre-existing degenerative condition in his neck.

“Because the vertebrae in question was ‘holey’ like ‘Swiss cheese’ the amount of force needed to cause this type of injury was reduced,” the press release said.

Additionally, Frasier said neither officer has been issued a complaint of excessive use of force in making an arrest.

“As tragic as the results are, the use of force was not unreasonable as to the circumstances then known by all involved,” Frasier wrote in the press release. The press release also states that while the DA’s Office could pursue charges against Foster, it will not.

Foster remains at the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, where he is listed in good condition.