Sleepy Hollow Settles Tasing Lawsuit

The Village of Sleepy Hollow has paid $200,000 to end an ongoing lawsuit involving a 2007 taser incident.

Court records indicate that the village made the payment earlier this month to a law firm representing Duanny Lara Mota and his mother Xiomara.

The lawsuit stemmed from an August 24, 2007 incident when Lara Mota, 16 at the time, allegedly rode a bicycle on the sidewalk and, when confronted by police officers, yelled and cursed, causing a crowd to gather. He then allegedly fled when officers Jose Quinoy and Paul Nelson attempted to place him under arrest near 178 Cortlandt Street. When Quinoy and Nelson caught up to Lara Mota, they allegedly threw him against a wall, "then slammed him to the ground and stunned him with a taser gun," according to court documents filed by Lara Mota's lawyers.

Lara Mota was charged with Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct and the Village Code violation of riding a bicycle on the sidewalk. On September 22, 2008, Judge Alphonse M. Naclerio of the Sleepy Hollow Village Justice Court threw out the charges when Lara Mota's defense attorney provided documents that showed his client's mental capabilities wouldn't have allowed him to formulate the "intent to commit the offenses charged."

On April 21, 2009, Lara Mota's attorney, Jonathan Rice, filed a lawsuit in federal court against Police Detective Jose Quinoy, Officer Paul Nelson, Police Chief Jimmy Warren and the Village of Sleepy Hollow. Rice argued that Lara Mota's civil rights had been deprived, and that he suffered "anxiety, physical and mental suffering and humiliation" as a result of the incident. Rice asked for $80 to $90 million in damages plus an additional $100,000 for Lara Mota's mother.

Court records indicate that both sides were coming to some sort of compromise on the lawsuit in June of 2010. Earlier this month, both sides agreed to an offer of judgement under Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 68 allowed the attorneys to end the legal action, with a positive judgement in favor of Lara Mota. The catch being that the plaintiffs would settle for an amount far less than the anticipated – $200,000.

On August 18, Lara Mota's lawyers indicated to the Hon. Cathy Seibel, who oversees the US District Court in White Plains, that they would accept the bargain. The check for $200,000 was signed on August 10, 2010 and sent off shortly there after.

Messages were left with Mayor Ken Wray and Village Attorney Janet Gandolfo at the end of the day on Thursday, they were both unavailable for comment.