Judge Rules in Favor of Enfield Police in Partially Dismissing Lawsuit

ENFIELD, CT — A federal judge in Bridgeport granted a partial summary judgment Monday in favor of six members of the Enfield Police Department named in a lawsuit against the town, the department and nine individual department members.

Patch obtained a copy of the 25-page ruling issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden, in which he dismissed five of the 16 claims filed by Christopher Demski concerning his arrest in fall 2013.

Demski was arrested late in the evening of Oct. 10, 2013, after neighbors reported "a shirtless man acting strangely." Demski allegedly broke into the home of a neighbor, but claimed he was sleepwalking and believed the home was that of his parents, who lived next door to the home he entered.

The homeowner called police, saying he heard “loud banging,” seeing a “male with long hair and

no shirt pacing back and forth in his living room,” and thinking “there was someone trying to kill
him.”

Sgt. Jim Lefebvre and officers Chris Dufresne and Brendan Devine arrived at the complainant's home shortly thereafter, with Dufresne accompanied by his police dog, Bruin.

According to the judgment:

"...when the police arrived, they saw Mr. Demski run out of the house, bleeding from his hands and feet. When the police officers ordered him to get on the ground, he lowered himself to his knees, screaming incoherently, and when the police officers attempted to handcuff him, he resisted. The police officers
deployed their taser gun multiple times, and each deployment was allegedly ineffective. The police officers were ultimately required to use a “drive stun deployment,” which allowed Officer Devine to handcuff Mr. Demski.

Mr. Demski, on the other hand, insists that he was handcuffed early on, before the police officers tased him repeatedly. Mr. Demski also alleges that the police canine, following an “attack” command from Officer Dufresne, latched on to his right foot and ankle, resulting in injuries to his Achilles tendon. The parties dispute whether the police canine actually bit Mr. Demski."

Officers called for medical assistance, and Demski was kept in a police car until an ambulance arrived. According to the judgment, police said "Mr. Demski was exhibiting aggressive behavior while in the police cruiser and while in the ambulance, including screaming, kicking the windows and spitting. Mr. Demski does not have any independent recollection of his behavior during this time, and he does not remember the majority of the events described above. He only remembers seeing a dog barking at him and being shocked with a taser gun."

While at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, "Demski initially continued acting aggressively," according to medical reports, adding he "was “fighting with us and being aggressive” and describing the need to place an oxygen mask on Mr. Demski “as a spit shield”."

After being discharged from the hospital and being returned to police custody, Demski claims he was placed in a holding cell and “made to limp and hobble, with a fully torn Achilles tendon… without assistance” from officers, the judgment states.

Demski was charged with criminal trespass, criminal mischief, interfering with a police officer, and breach of peace. By paying a $50 fine, he was able to reduce these charges to a single charge of creating a public disturbance, the document states.

Nearly a year later, on Oct. 2, 2014, Demski filed his lawsuit, naming the town of Enfield, Police Chief Carl Sferrazza, Lefebvre, Dufresne, Devine, officers Nicholas Ragion, Kevin Cwirka and Michael Colantuono and two unidentified officers as defendants.

In his judgment, Bolden dismissed the following claims:

• dog bite liability
• failure to render adequate medical assistance in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments
• failure to render adequate medical assistance in violation of the Connecticut Constitution
• false arrest and malicious prosecution
• municipal liability for constitutional violations on the part of the town and Chief Sferrazza

All claims against Sferrazza, Ragion, Cwirka, Colantuono and the two unidentified officers were dismissed.

"The part of the summary judgment I was pleased with was the judge acknowledged the department does have policies in place regarding use of force reports," Sferrazza said Tuesday morning. "We do annual use of force analysis to see patterns and come up with strategies for training. I'm also glad the judge recognized that we work hard to maintain our accreditation standards through CALEA (the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.)."

The following claims will proceed to trial against Lefebvre, Dufresne and Devine:

• excessive force under the Fourth Amendment and the Connecticut Constitution
• common law negligence and recklessness
• common law intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress
• common law assault and battery
• failure to intervene under the Fourth Amendment and the Connecticut Constitution

The following claims will proceed to trial against the town of Enfield:

• liability under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-557n
• indemnification under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-465

The lawsuit was the second of 11 such suits filed in a 15-month span. Eight of those involved former police officer Matt Worden, who was allowed to resign after having initially been fired.

The Enfield Town Council has voted to settle six of those lawsuits.

Patch file photo