West Hartford: Taser Incident Settlement Was For $250K

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The settlement between the Town of West Hartford and the parents of a deaf child tased by police in 2013 was for $250,000, the town's attorney said Tuesday night.

According to West Hartford Corporation Counsel Dallas Dodge, a combination of the town's liability insurance carrier and West Hartford's so-called "risk fund" will pay for the settlement.

The nearly nine-year legal battle ended July 14 with an approved settlement.

The West Hartford Town Council unanimously voted to settle the matter with the plaintiffs, who are the parents of the 12-year-old boy tased on the grounds of the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford.

The plaintiffs alleged excessive force was used when police were called to the school to subdue their son, who was involved in an incident on campus involving staff members and police.

According to the approved settlement document obtained by Patch Tuesday night, as part of the deal, the plaintiffs cannot have a press conference or discuss the settlement with the media.

In addition, the agreement states the settlement is not an admission of guilt or liability and is, merely, a "compromise solution" to the dispute.

“The Town of West Hartford takes all allegations of excessive force very seriously. This is a case that was filed almost a decade ago, dismissed in federal court and subsequently refiled in state court," Dodge said in a written statement.

"The settlement is not an admission of fault or liability by the town or the defendant police officer. After defense costs, the majority of the settlement will be paid by the town’s excess insurance carrier. Out of respect for the agreement to settle, we will have no further comment.”

It all stems from an incident in April 2013 in which a 12-year-old pupil became involved in an altercation with school staffers, who then called the police.

When police arrived, the boy had allegedly assaulted staff members and was threatening both school staffers and police with rocks and a stick.

The boy, in addition to being deaf, had attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and, reportedly, stood 5-feet-6-inches tall and weighed 140 pounds.

In order to get the boy under control, an officer with the West Hartford Police Department — Paul Paul Gionfriddo, who has since retired — used a taser weapon to subdue the boy, according to court documents.

That led to a federal lawsuit by the boy's parents, Audley and Judith Muschette of the Bronx, N.Y., against the school, the Town of West Hartford and Gionfriddo specifically.

The suit sought unspecified damages for excessive force against the 12-year-old.

Ultimately, a federal court ruled against Gionfriddo's motion to dismiss the case, but in 2018, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Gionfriddo.

In addition, the school was also cleared by the federal court.

That, however, did not dismiss the plaintiff's suit in state court against the officer and the Town of West Hartford.

That ended with the West Hartford Town Council voting to approve the settlement last week.

To read the full settlement document, click on this link.

"West Hartford Settles Suit Over Deaf Child Who Was Tased"

From 2013: "Lawsuit: 12-Year-Old American School for the Deaf Student Tasered by West Hartford Police"