Man won’t sue over blood drawing

A former Polish basketball player’s claim against Newport Beach that police permanently injured his arm when they took a blood sample from him in 2007 has been rejected, and he won’t sue the city, his attorney, David Stroud, said Tuesday.

Jerry Reschke of Laguna Beach, whom his attorney claims was a hoops superstar in Poland and elsewhere in Europe during the 1980s, was asking for $5,000 from the city.

“[He] is well known in his home country and parts of Europe as a basketball star and is easily recognized in Poland and other parts of Europe as such not unlike the manner in which Michael Jordan is recognized in the United States,� according to the claim.

An official at the Poland consulate in Los Angeles did not recognize Reschke’s name.

According to Reschke’s claim, police officers who responded to an Oct. 2, 2007, car crash on Newport Coast Drive, where his vehicle was rear-ended, were hostile to him and demanded a blood sample.

One of the officers “became convinced that [Reschke] was a drug dealer — or that he was in possession of drugs,� according to the claim.

Stroud said that Reschke’s accent, combined with his being dazed and confused after the crash, led the officer to believe he was under the influence of drugs.

When the officer demanded that a paramedic take a blood sample at the scene, Reschke resisted, the claim reads.

Newport Beach City Atty. David Hunt did not immediately return calls for comment.

According to the claim, the officer — whom Reschke could not identify — held his arm down and had the medic take a blood sample.

“[Reschke] lost his battle, and after the needle was inserted, he stopped fighting since the damage had been done and several blood vials were then filled with his blood,� the claim said.

Reschke’s arm was permanently scarred from the careless way the needle was put in his arm, and he needs plastic surgery to fix it, Stroud said.

The city rejected the claim a couple of weeks ago.

Stroud said that Reschke will not sue because they’ve been stonewalled and there’s no record to back up Reschke’s claim.

“We’d end up in court and we’ll have no evidence of Jerry’s story besides his word,� Stroud said. “The little guy is getting such a runaround these days.�

The insurance company for the woman who allegedly hit Reschke refused to pay more than $5,000, and would only pay if they were protected from a lawsuit, Stroud said.

Reschke is suing the woman.