Victim of alleged police brutality files $10
million suit against Norwalk, four officers By
LESLIE LAKE
NORWALK — The attorney for a Norwalk man who
suffered multiple injuries during a 2012 arrest has filed a $10 million lawsuit
in Federal court against the City of Norwalk and four Norwalk police officers
alleging civil rights violations.
The 19-page lawsuit, obtained by The Hour and
that was filed by Greenwich attorney Phillip Russell on behalf of now
23-year-old Cody Greene, alleges that police officers violated Greene's civil
rights and caused a series of injuries, some of which were deemed permanent.
In addition to the City of Norwalk, defendants
are police officers Steven Luciano, Felipe Taborda, Adam Mulkern, and Julio
Rodriguez.
The action is being brought pursuant to 42
U.S.C. 1983 and 42 U.S.C. 1988 and the first, fourth, fifth, eighth, and
eighteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
According to the lawsuit to be filed, Greene
was visiting a friend at 16 School St. when a black vehicle with tinted windows
pulled up next to him and the four defendants, all dressed in black exited the
vehicle and began asking him questions.
"At no point in time did the individual
defendants identify themselves as police officers, nor were the individual
defendants wearing and/or displaying any clothing or badging that identified
them as such. At that point, and for no reason, defendant Mulkern attempted to
'pat down' the plaintiff."
The complaint further alleges that the fearful
plaintiff ran from the scene and the police officers engaged in a foot pursuit.
During the foot pursuit, the suit further alleges that a gun was pointed at
Greene and he was Tasered.
"The plaintiff tired, Tasered, and
staggering fell with his arms outstretched ...Thereafter Defendant Luciano
rolled the Plaintiff over on his back, placed his knees on the Plaintiff's
outstretched arms, sat on the Plaintiff's chest, and beat the Plaintiff's head
and face numerous times with closed fists and elbows," according to the
complaint.
According to a police report dated July 19,
2012 police say: "We were dressed in black Raid type uniforms with
'POLICE' in bright yellow letters, making us immediately identifiable as
Norwalk Police Officers."
Norwalk Police Chief Tom Kulhawik released a
statement Friday afternoon responding to the allegation.
"The lawsuit is not unexpected based upon
the initial posturing of Attorney Russell in this case," Kulhawik said.
"However I am confident that our Assistant Corporation Counsel will
vigorously defend the officers who our investigation found had acted within the
law and within department policy."
At the time of the arrest, Kulhawik said that
he had no reason to suspect the officers involved in the apprehension used
excessive force.
Kulhawik noted that the investigation was
"hampered by Attorney Russell's decision to not allow his client to be
interviewed nor would he allow the release of any medical records in the
case."
President of the police union, Dave Orr, also
commented on the lawsuit Saturday morning.
"The officers named in this complaint have
already be cleared of any wrong doing. The Internal Affairs investigation
supported that force was applied correctly and according to policy and
law," Orr said. "I am confident that this processes will yield the
same determination, and that the details of the arrestee's criminal behavior
which precipitated this incident and made any use of force necessary will come
to light as well."
At a Friday morning press conference attended
by Greene, Russell, attorney Todd Haase, and private investigator William
Smith, Russell said, "Exactly two years ago today Cody was accosted by
four people in civilian clothes who demanded he submit to a search. When he ran
away, he was chased and when he was caught he was Tasered and beat up...His
injuries are prodigious and are outlined in the complaint. They are
life-altering injuries and this is a tragedy."
Among the injuries to Greene claimed in the
complaint are: Left orbital fracture, left upper and lower jaw fractures;
fractured nose and septum; left eye hemorrhage; hemorrhage in posterior
temporal lobe of brain; cerebral concussion and traumatic brain injury;
stuttering disorder; post traumatic stress disorder; nerve damage to face and
nose; post traumatic headaches and insomnia; facial numbness, impaired balance
and gait; and deficits in attention, concentration, word finding, detail
orientation, and short term memory.
The lawsuit alleges that, "The Plaintiff's
injuries, or some of them, will be permanent in nature and/or permanently
disabling."
"Because of the injuries sustained, the
Plaintiff was transported to Norwalk Hospital via ambulance, placed in a
medically induced coma, placed in intensive care, and remained in the hospital
for four days," according to the complaint.
Greene was charged at the time with two
felonies: Possession with intent to sell, a possession of a controlled
substance within 1,500 feet of a school or housing complex, and four
misdemeanors: Two counts of interfering with a police officer, possession of a
controlled substance; and criminal trespass.
He was arraigned in his hospital bed on
allegations of selling marijuana in a housing complex and led police on a foot
chase in which three officers were injured. Two of the officers were
hospitalized; one with a gouge to his leg requiring 15-20 stitches and another
officer with a hamstring injury.
"The unlawful possession charge was based
on marijuana that was found in a window well of the complex, and the
interference charges were based on injuries the officers sustained in the
chase," Russell said. "Cody was cleared of most charges and was
placed in a diversionary program for minor offenders."
"The officers were cleared in an internal
investigation," Russell said.
"We don't want this to be swept under the
rug, and we hope that this doesn't happen to any other citizen of
Norwalk."
The city has 41 days to answer the complaint
and a motion to dismiss is due by Oct. 16, 2014.
Hour Staff Writer Steve Kobak contributed to
this report
