West Hartford Business Owner Files Lawsuit Against Police Officers, Town

A West Hartford business owner is suing the town and two police officers, claiming that police refused to arrest one of his employees who had stolen customer checks and cashed them in Hartford, according to the Hartford Courant.

The Courant reports that D’Mario Sowah, owner of Akua Ba Fitness, filed the lawsuit in February and is seeking monetary and punitive damages from incidents that occurred after he discovered on Jan. 23, 2014, that two checks made out to the gym for $930 and $407 had been stolen and cashed in Hartford.

Sowah reported the theft to West Hartford police and had “several disagreements” with Officer Tory Lukas, according to the Courant.

Lukas, who repeatedly suggested to Sowah he should report the matter to Hartford police, eventually closed the investigation after the employee confessed to the theft and said she would make restitution, according to the Courant.

Lukas’s supervisor, Lt. Roger Brancoforte, approved closing the investigation. Both Lukas and Brancoforte are named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit includes counts of intentional infliction of emotional distress against both Lukas and Brancoforte and a third count of indemnification against the town of West Hartford, according to the Courant.

Read details of the lawsuit at the Hartford Courant here.

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