By
ROSE BOUBOUSHIAN
(CN) - Police officers videotaped beating and having a K-9 unit maul a
subdued 20-year-old cannot stay false arrest and excessive force claims, a
federal judge ruled.
David Connor Castellani said in his
complaint that the Tropicana Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., had just
thrown him out during the wee hours of June 15, 2013, for drinking underage.
On the sidewalk Castellani soon
encountered some police officers, who had him pull his pockets inside-out,
patted him down, and let him walk away, according to the complaint and backed
up by video surveillance posted on CNN.
The video shows Castellani yelling at the
officers from across the street.
Castellani says he was asking them to help
him find his ride home, but that they allegedly "mocked and
ridiculed" him, and a "heated verbal exchange" ensued.
Castellani said he did not threaten the
officers, but that they suddenly "bum-rushed the plaintiff, tackled him to
the ground, and began to viciously assault" him.
Indeed the video shows four officers run
toward Castellani and tackle him to the ground.
"I am not resisting," Castellani
allegedly cried out, as the officers punched, kneed, kicked and clubbed him.
A fifth officer arrived, joining the group
in kneeing Castellani and striking him with batons as they get him on his
stomach to put him in handcuffs.
Castellani said one of his hands was
cuffed at this point when Officer Stearling Wheaten arrived in a K-9 unit
vehicle.
Wheaten immediately ordered the dog to
attack "the completely subdued and helpless" Castellani, according to
the complaint.
"The vicious dog mauled the back of
plaintiff's neck and head as several of the officers, including defendant
Wheaten, continued to punch and kick the plaintiff," the complaint states.
This account matches the video CNN posted.
Castellani said the officers even stepped
aside - "several of them laughing and smiling" - to let the dog maul
his "lifeless body."
Accompanied by graphic images of
Castellani's injuries, CNN reported that the young man needed 200 stitches.
He was nonetheless charged with disorderly
conduct, aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest by using
physical force and violence, and assault of a police animal.
Wheaten was allegedly never disciplined
for 21 civilian complaints of misconduct filed against him between 2008 and
2011- including 15 for excessive force or assault.
Castellani sued the officers in October,
alleging false arrest and excessive force in violation of his Fourth, Eighth
and 14th Amendment rights; conspiracy; and several tort law violations. He
further claims that the violations stemmed from an Atlantic City custom or
policy.
The officers asked to stay Castellani's
suit pending resolution of his criminal charges.
U.S. District Judge Renee Bumb denied the
motion on Jan. 15, tossing aside the defendants' claim that the court would
have to "guess" whether a ruling in the civil suit would invalidate a
future conviction.
"As there have been no indictments in
this matter and there is no indication that the criminal trial against
plaintiff will soon commence, any stay would be indefinite and, thus,
prejudicial to plaintiff," Bumb wrote.
Castellani's interest in "proceeding
expeditiously" also weighs in favor of denying the motion, the unpublished
ruling states.
"Finally, this court finds that if
plaintiff's allegations are true, they certainly raise issues of significant
public concern, and, certainly, this matter has garnered significant attention
from the public," Bumb wrote.
