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Deaf man sues county for false arrest (www.HometownGlenBurnie.com - The Maryland Gazette)
A 58-year-old deaf man who called police in 2008 to report a burglary only to find himself in handcuffs for assaulting a law enforcement officer is suing the county for police brutality and false arrest.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 14 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, came 19 months after prosecutors dropped all charges against Stephen Pyles of Pasadena.
Joseph S. Mack, Pyles' attorney, declined yesterday to comment about the lawsuit. It stems from an April 16, 2008, incident involving Officer Louis Facciponti and Officer Steven James and seeks more than $1.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
Justin Mulcahy, a spokesman for the county Police Department, referred questions about the lawsuit to the county's Office of Law. County Attorney Jonathan Hodgson declined to comment because the case is pending.
In court documents, one of Hodgson's staff attorneys has argued for part of the lawsuit to be dismissed on a technicality.
Cpl. O'Brien Atkinson, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, voiced his support this week for Facciponti, who joined the department in 2007, and James, who joined in 2005. He reiterated comments he made in March 2009 that Facciponti had wanted the criminal case to go to trial.
"I'm not surprised by the lawsuit, but I don't think the litigant is going to prevail unless the county decides to pay him off to make him go away," said Atkinson.
The county settled a previous wrongful arrest lawsuit in September 2009 for $5,000 because it would have cost more to defend the case in court.
According to police and the six-count, 10-page lawsuit, Pyles used a TTY telephone about 6 a.m. to report a burglary at his home on Colony Road. Facciponti and James responded to investigate.
Pyles met the officers outside, mimed that he was deaf and pointed to a broken window.
Inside the house, Pyles and the officers used a note pad to trade several handwritten notes. What happens next is in dispute.
Facciponti claimed in court papers that Pyles punched him with a closed fist in the chest for no reason. Pyles, however, claimed in the lawsuit that Facciponti grabbed him without warning and wrestled him to the ground; that James stood by and watched as Facciponti handcuffed his hands behind his back.
"Defendant Facciponti made no attempt to communicate to (Pyles) that he was being placed under arrest despite the ready availability of … the pad of paper," the lawsuit said.
Pyles' family members told police at the time that he had undergone neck surgery a few days earlier. Despite multiple requests, Facciponti refused to handcuff Pyles' hands in front to make him more comfortable and to allow him to communicate, the lawsuit said.
Paramedics examined Pyles at the scene and took him to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie to be checked by a doctor. He was treated and released.
Police charged Pyles at the time with second-degree assault and resisting arrest. Prosecutors, however, dropped all charges on Feb. 23, 2009, after a county emergency medical technician came forward to say she witnessed the incident and that Pyles merely placed a note on Facciponti's chest in an attempt to get his attention.
"Much of the incident appears to be a matter of perception," Kristin Fleckenstein, a spokesman for the State's Attorney Office, said at the time. During the same interview, she stood up for Facciponti.
"We do not believe that the officer had any malicious intent," she said.
The lawsuit names as defendants the county, Facciponti, James and county Police Chief James Teare Sr.
Without providing specifics, the lawsuit claimed other people previously had complained to the department about Facciponti and James.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleged Teare and the county had "prior notice" that the two officers "posed a pervasive and unreasonable risk of harm to citizens like Pyles, but took no steps to train them, correct their abuse of authority or to discourage their unlawful use of authority."
A 58-year-old deaf man who called police in 2008 to report a burglary only to find himself in handcuffs for assaulting a law enforcement officer is suing the county for police brutality and false arrest.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 14 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, came 19 months after prosecutors dropped all charges against Stephen Pyles of Pasadena.
Joseph S. Mack, Pyles' attorney, declined yesterday to comment about the lawsuit. It stems from an April 16, 2008, incident involving Officer Louis Facciponti and Officer Steven James and seeks more than $1.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
Justin Mulcahy, a spokesman for the county Police Department, referred questions about the lawsuit to the county's Office of Law. County Attorney Jonathan Hodgson declined to comment because the case is pending.
In court documents, one of Hodgson's staff attorneys has argued for part of the lawsuit to be dismissed on a technicality.
Cpl. O'Brien Atkinson, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, voiced his support this week for Facciponti, who joined the department in 2007, and James, who joined in 2005. He reiterated comments he made in March 2009 that Facciponti had wanted the criminal case to go to trial.
"I'm not surprised by the lawsuit, but I don't think the litigant is going to prevail unless the county decides to pay him off to make him go away," said Atkinson.
The county settled a previous wrongful arrest lawsuit in September 2009 for $5,000 because it would have cost more to defend the case in court.
According to police and the six-count, 10-page lawsuit, Pyles used a TTY telephone about 6 a.m. to report a burglary at his home on Colony Road. Facciponti and James responded to investigate.
Pyles met the officers outside, mimed that he was deaf and pointed to a broken window.
Inside the house, Pyles and the officers used a note pad to trade several handwritten notes. What happens next is in dispute.
Facciponti claimed in court papers that Pyles punched him with a closed fist in the chest for no reason. Pyles, however, claimed in the lawsuit that Facciponti grabbed him without warning and wrestled him to the ground; that James stood by and watched as Facciponti handcuffed his hands behind his back.
"Defendant Facciponti made no attempt to communicate to (Pyles) that he was being placed under arrest despite the ready availability of … the pad of paper," the lawsuit said.
Pyles' family members told police at the time that he had undergone neck surgery a few days earlier. Despite multiple requests, Facciponti refused to handcuff Pyles' hands in front to make him more comfortable and to allow him to communicate, the lawsuit said.
Paramedics examined Pyles at the scene and took him to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie to be checked by a doctor. He was treated and released.
Police charged Pyles at the time with second-degree assault and resisting arrest. Prosecutors, however, dropped all charges on Feb. 23, 2009, after a county emergency medical technician came forward to say she witnessed the incident and that Pyles merely placed a note on Facciponti's chest in an attempt to get his attention.
"Much of the incident appears to be a matter of perception," Kristin Fleckenstein, a spokesman for the State's Attorney Office, said at the time. During the same interview, she stood up for Facciponti.
"We do not believe that the officer had any malicious intent," she said.
The lawsuit names as defendants the county, Facciponti, James and county Police Chief James Teare Sr.
Without providing specifics, the lawsuit claimed other people previously had complained to the department about Facciponti and James.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleged Teare and the county had "prior notice" that the two officers "posed a pervasive and unreasonable risk of harm to citizens like Pyles, but took no steps to train them, correct their abuse of authority or to discourage their unlawful use of authority."