Jury awards 2 men $150,000 after arrests, scuffle
By Danielle M. Horn TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER — A federal jury has awarded two men $150,000 after finding that police falsely arrested them and used excessive force against them outside a gay nightclub in 2001.
The verdict, which means the city will pay both compensatory and punitive damages for the actions of four Worcester police officers, represents the second time in 17 years that a jury has ruled against Worcester police in a brutality case.
City lawyers, who more often than not have been victorious when such civil cases reach a jury, were disappointed by the verdict and say they will file post-trial motions to address “legal deficiencies” in the trial. The plaintiffs, meanwhile, expressed relief at the end of a nearly decade-old case with bizarre twists and turns.
“I have great relief and the feeling that justice has prevailed,” said Richard N. Tousignant of Brookline outside Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV’s courtroom in U.S. District Court. “I’ve learned a lot of people have suffered at the hands of the Worcester Police Department, and we had an attorney who believed in our cause that was willing to go ahead and fight.”
Mr. Tousignant, formerly of Gardner, and Brandon S. Blair, a California resident who used to live in Boston, saw their case upheld after dismissals and two changes of counsel: the first after lawyer W. Theodore Harris was suspended from practice for an unrelated case, and the second after their new lawyer, Stephen M. Campobasso, killed his fiancée and himself.
In 2007, Judge Saylor — the same justice who oversaw the jury trial — dismissed the case after city lawyers argued police had been improperly served with papers in the suit. Then the appeals court upheld the dismissal. In 2008, however, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resurrected the case when it overturned Judge Saylor’s decision.
After a weeklong trial and 90 minutes of deliberation, an eight-member jury yesterday found that Officers Daniel Dowd, James Moore, Jose Ortiz and Peter Towler had falsely arrested and used excessive force against Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair when they responded Dec. 23, 2001, to a fight at the now-closed A-Men club on Commercial Street.
Police charged both men with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. Soon after a jury in 2002 found Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair not guilty of the charges, the men filed suit in U.S. District Court.
In addition to the four officers, the case initially named as defendants the city, then-Police Chief James M. Gallagher, Officers Thomas Dowd, Thomas Falcone, Jonathan Thomas, Thomas C. Duffy, and then-Lt. Edward McGinn. Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair later dismissed them as defendants.
According to a summary of evidence from lawyer Michael L. Altman of Boston, Mr. Tousignant yelled at an officer to stop after seeing him “kick and pummel” two bar patrons. Police told Mr. Tousignant to leave the bar or be arrested. When he and Mr. Blair went to his car, a police vehicle prevented them from leaving. They talked to police about moving the cruiser, and Mr. Blair said he wanted to file a complaint over what they saw inside the club. One officer then signaled to others, who reportedly knocked Mr. Blair and Mr. Tousignant to the ground. Mr. Tousignant hurt his face and elbow, and had his face pounded to the pavement several times.
City solicitors, however, said in a press release yesterday that Mr. Tousignant became belligerent after watching police arrest a customer. After several exchanges with police, he started grabbing people outside of the club, inciting them to “get the police!” When officers started to arrest Mr. Tousignant, Mr. Blair allegedly jumped on one of the officers.
Both sides agreed the men received minor physical wounds: Mr. Blair had scrapes on his knees and face while Mr. Tousignant had a small scrape on his face. Mr. Altman alleged Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair also suffered emotionally.
The city is now responsible for paying $90,000 in damages related to the false arrest claim and $60,000 for excessive force. The jury award excludes yet-to-be-calculated legal fees Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair’s lawyers will pursue.
Included in the jury’s $150,000 assessment of damages were punitive damages totaling $45,000 — $15,000 for each officer except Officer Dowd.
City Solicitor David Moore thought it noteworthy that the majority of damages were related to the false arrest.
“In the jury’s mind, the fact that police arrested these guys was twice as important as any excessive force they saw,” he said.
Since 1993, seven Worcester police brutality cases have progressed to a full jury trial. Police won five of them, said Mr. Moore, noting that lawyers generally refuse to settle out of court when they feel they have a strong case.
“We did think we had a strong defense in this case, and that the officers were justified,” Mr. Moore said.
The last jury trial for a civil suit that Mr. Moore could remember police losing was in 1993, when a federal jury awarded $90,000 (not including legal fees) to city resident Joseph F. Consolo III, whose lawyers argued police were indifferent to his medical needs when he was arrested on a drunken driving charge.
The verdict, which means the city will pay both compensatory and punitive damages for the actions of four Worcester police officers, represents the second time in 17 years that a jury has ruled against Worcester police in a brutality case.
City lawyers, who more often than not have been victorious when such civil cases reach a jury, were disappointed by the verdict and say they will file post-trial motions to address “legal deficiencies” in the trial. The plaintiffs, meanwhile, expressed relief at the end of a nearly decade-old case with bizarre twists and turns.
“I have great relief and the feeling that justice has prevailed,” said Richard N. Tousignant of Brookline outside Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV’s courtroom in U.S. District Court. “I’ve learned a lot of people have suffered at the hands of the Worcester Police Department, and we had an attorney who believed in our cause that was willing to go ahead and fight.”
Mr. Tousignant, formerly of Gardner, and Brandon S. Blair, a California resident who used to live in Boston, saw their case upheld after dismissals and two changes of counsel: the first after lawyer W. Theodore Harris was suspended from practice for an unrelated case, and the second after their new lawyer, Stephen M. Campobasso, killed his fiancée and himself.
In 2007, Judge Saylor — the same justice who oversaw the jury trial — dismissed the case after city lawyers argued police had been improperly served with papers in the suit. Then the appeals court upheld the dismissal. In 2008, however, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resurrected the case when it overturned Judge Saylor’s decision.
After a weeklong trial and 90 minutes of deliberation, an eight-member jury yesterday found that Officers Daniel Dowd, James Moore, Jose Ortiz and Peter Towler had falsely arrested and used excessive force against Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair when they responded Dec. 23, 2001, to a fight at the now-closed A-Men club on Commercial Street.
Police charged both men with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. Soon after a jury in 2002 found Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair not guilty of the charges, the men filed suit in U.S. District Court.
In addition to the four officers, the case initially named as defendants the city, then-Police Chief James M. Gallagher, Officers Thomas Dowd, Thomas Falcone, Jonathan Thomas, Thomas C. Duffy, and then-Lt. Edward McGinn. Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair later dismissed them as defendants.
According to a summary of evidence from lawyer Michael L. Altman of Boston, Mr. Tousignant yelled at an officer to stop after seeing him “kick and pummel” two bar patrons. Police told Mr. Tousignant to leave the bar or be arrested. When he and Mr. Blair went to his car, a police vehicle prevented them from leaving. They talked to police about moving the cruiser, and Mr. Blair said he wanted to file a complaint over what they saw inside the club. One officer then signaled to others, who reportedly knocked Mr. Blair and Mr. Tousignant to the ground. Mr. Tousignant hurt his face and elbow, and had his face pounded to the pavement several times.
City solicitors, however, said in a press release yesterday that Mr. Tousignant became belligerent after watching police arrest a customer. After several exchanges with police, he started grabbing people outside of the club, inciting them to “get the police!” When officers started to arrest Mr. Tousignant, Mr. Blair allegedly jumped on one of the officers.
Both sides agreed the men received minor physical wounds: Mr. Blair had scrapes on his knees and face while Mr. Tousignant had a small scrape on his face. Mr. Altman alleged Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair also suffered emotionally.
The city is now responsible for paying $90,000 in damages related to the false arrest claim and $60,000 for excessive force. The jury award excludes yet-to-be-calculated legal fees Mr. Tousignant and Mr. Blair’s lawyers will pursue.
Included in the jury’s $150,000 assessment of damages were punitive damages totaling $45,000 — $15,000 for each officer except Officer Dowd.
City Solicitor David Moore thought it noteworthy that the majority of damages were related to the false arrest.
“In the jury’s mind, the fact that police arrested these guys was twice as important as any excessive force they saw,” he said.
Since 1993, seven Worcester police brutality cases have progressed to a full jury trial. Police won five of them, said Mr. Moore, noting that lawyers generally refuse to settle out of court when they feel they have a strong case.
“We did think we had a strong defense in this case, and that the officers were justified,” Mr. Moore said.
The last jury trial for a civil suit that Mr. Moore could remember police losing was in 1993, when a federal jury awarded $90,000 (not including legal fees) to city resident Joseph F. Consolo III, whose lawyers argued police were indifferent to his medical needs when he was arrested on a drunken driving charge.
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