Sean O'Sullivan, The News
Journal
The American Civil Liberties
Union filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday against the city of Dover and
a police officer alleging misconduct by an officer the group says assaulted a
man during a routine police encounter last year.
Lateef Dickerson, 30, of Dover,
suffered a broken jaw and facial cuts and was hospitalized as a result of a
confrontation with Dover Cpl. Thomas W. Webster IV following a disturbance at a
U.S. 13 service station on Aug. 24, 2013. While Dickerson was charged with
assault, theft and resisting arrest those charges were later dropped.
Dover police spokesman Cpl.
Mark Hoffman said Monday afternoon the department would be looking into the
lawsuit. He added that the internal affairs investigation regarding Webster was
complete, but would not say if the officer had been disciplined or not.
In a written response, the
department said, "At this time we are in the process of reviewing the
allegations made against the City of Dover Police Department and have observed
some inaccuracies [in the allegations] about the actions taken by the police
department in this matter."
While the suit relates to a
single incident from 2013, Delaware ACLU Executive Director Kathleen MacRae
said her organization has "had conversations with individuals in Dover
that would indicate this is not necessarily an isolated incident."
MacRae said there have been
allegations of both excessive force and racial profiling by others related to
the Dover Police Department. "I would say we have broad concerns,"
MacRae said.
According to the suit,
Dickerson was buying gas at the Hess Service Station on U.S. 13 in Dover when a
fight involving several customers erupted inside the building and the clerk
warned everyone in the store that he was going to call police.
While the initial reports
indicated that patrons were "armed," no one apparently had any
weapons.
Dickerson left and went to a
building across the street where he was confronted by Webster, who told
Dickerson to "freeze and put his hands in the air."
Dickerson complied, according
to the lawsuit, and Webster then approached Dickerson from behind and hit him
and demanded Dickerson "get on his knees and put his hands up."
Again, the suit claims
Dickerson complied but was nonetheless knocked unconscious by Webster.
Prior to being knocked
unconscious, Dickerson was not informed that he was under arrest and Dickerson
only regained consciousness as he arrived at Bayhealth-Kent General Hospital in
a police car, according to court papers.
At the hospital, doctors
determined Dickerson had a broken jaw, and cuts on his lip, nose and forehead
requiring stitches.
Webster was suspended with pay
on Nov. 4, and the Delaware Attorney General's Office had enough concerns about
the case that it brought the matter to a grand jury. But in March that panel
did not return any charges against Webster.
Attorney Daniel Herr, who is
representing Dickerson, along with the ACLU, said that failure to indict by the
grand jury ended both the Attorney General's inquiry into the matter and the
Dover Police Department's internal investigation and that Webster did not face
any additional punishment.
Herr said there is video of
both the original confrontation in the Hess station and of Webster's subsequent
confrontation with Dickerson and they will be seeking copies of both in the
discovery process.
Dover police confirmed there
was video of the incident but declined to release any copies earlier this year
because it related to a personnel matter.
Dover City Council president
David Bonar said he's behind the city's police force 100 percent.
"This was an issue that
was reviewed by Internal Affairs and the Attorney General's office and it was
determined that there was no criminality involved. We have worked with the
police department … to ensure that they have the adequate sensitivity training
they need," Bonar said.
Mayor Robin Christiansen, who
oversees the department under the city's charter, said the department operates
within the confines of the law.
"Anyone not adhering to
those rules will be dealt with by myself and the chief," he said.
"Until proven otherwise, they are here to protect and serve our citizens
and equally administer the law to everyone."
Dickerson has a lengthy
criminal record, including convictions for resisting arrest, reckless
endangerment, DUI and drug charges. He also has weapons charges pending against
him in both Kent and New Castle counties.
Delaware ACLU Legal Director
Richard Morse said he believes there is clear evidence that Webster used
excessive force in this incident "and that is the only issue."
"Whether or not Mr. Dickerson
did something wrong in the past has no bearing on whether or not the conduct of
Officer Webster was improper," Morse said, adding that everyone is
entitled to be treated properly.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S.
District Court in Wilmington, seeks damages to compensate Dickerson for the
injuries and ongoing medical issues related to the assault and a court
injunction to force Dover to improve its training, supervision and internal
review procedures.
According to the lawsuit, Dover
as a matter of "policy and/or custom" has failed to properly
investigate or discipline allegations of police misconduct in the past
"providing no accountability for city's police officers."
"Individual officers
cannot be permitted to abuse their authority and police departments must hold
them accountable when they do so," MacRae said.
Staff writer Jon Offredo and
News Delivery Editor Jon P. Zaimes contributed to this story.
Contact Sean O'Sullivan at
(302) 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @SeanGOSullivan