Danvers Settles Lawsuit Charging Police With Illegal Search

DANVERS, MA — The Town of Danvers agreed to pay $25,000 to a man who claimed his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when police arrested him in 2013. The federal lawsuit Matthew Fairbanks filed in 2016 was scheduled to go to trial this months, but both sides agreed to mediation. Under the terms of the settlement, the town denied Fairbank’s version of events and admitted no wrong-doing.

The parties agreed to mediation after a judge ruled May in favor of Fairbanks by denying the town's motion for summary judgement on the illegal search and seizure claim by Fairbanks. In the ruling, Judge Nathaniel Gorton upheld Fairbanks’ arrest, but not the subsequent search of the apartment and seizure of various firearms and military memorabilia.

"Judge Nathaniel Gorton held that the five officers were not entitled to qualified immunity as their search and seizure violated clearly established federal law," Michael Walsh, the attorney who represented Fairbanks, said in a statement.

Danvers police responded to Fairbanks's father's apartment on Jan. 7, 2013 after a call of a domestic disturbance. Fairbanks, who was described as a decorated Marine suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, got into a fight with his father after the two had spent the night drinking, according to court documents.

Fairbanks had reportedly slammed the older man's head off a bathroom fixture after getting into a fight with his father, who objected to his son "messing around" with an Applebee's waitress they had met earlier that night and had gone back to the apartment with the two men and the father's girlfriend. The older Fairbanks told police his son was married and his wife was pregnant at the time.

After police arrested Fairbanks, they searched the apartment and his car and found a Colt .45 pistol, a .38 caliber handgun, a rifle scope and sniper stand, a collapsible baton and a Marine-issued Ka-Bar knife. Fairbanks was charged with assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of improper storage of a firearm, and malicious destruction of property.

In the May 10 federal court ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton ruled that Danvers police should have known they needed a warrant to continue searching after conducting an initial, "protective sweep" of the apartment. There was also a discrepancy over whether the weapons were in plain sight that was not considered in a previous ruling by the court.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).