By LESLIE LAKE
Hour Staff Writer The Hour Publishing Company | 25
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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
