Guilford Fisherman Sues Over Arrest After Acquittal

A Guilford man filed a lawsuit against his two arresting officers and the man who complained about him after being acquitted on charges of clam poaching, the New Haven Register reported.

Nicholas Crismale was arrested in December 2011, after Christopher Walston accused him of stealing clams from his clam bed.

Crismale, a commercial fisherman and president of the Lobstermen’s Association of Connecticut, filed a complaint on Aug.11 in New Haven Superior Court. According to the complaint, he said he faced economic losses, humiliation and anxiety as a result of the charges and asks for a judgement greater than $15,000, the paper reported.

Crismale alleges that the two Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officers who arrested him, Jeffrey Samorajczyk and Todd Chenacki, did so without a warrant and “falsely and maliciously” accused him of larceny. The officers also threw a large quantity of Crismale’s clams overboard, resulting in economic losses for the fisherman.

Crismale seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, and reimbursement for legal fees from the two officers. He is also asking for compensatory and punitive damages from Walston for malicious prosecution and slander because of a quote that appeared in the Courant.

Crismale told the paper he believes he was targeted for speaking out against the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Read the full story at the New Haven Register.

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