News & Noteworthy
Lawsuit Alleges
New Haven Police
Violated
Wallingford
Man's Civil
Rights
Complaint Names
City Of New
Haven And Former
Police Chief
Among Defendants
By KELLY GLISTA
The Hartford
Courant
6:25 PM EDT,
September 18,
2013
NEW HAVEN — A
man who was
arrested in 2010
for filming
police officers
on Crown Street
with his iPhone
has filed a
civil rights
lawsuit against
the city of New
Haven, as well
as the former
police chief and
several
officers.
The lawsuit,
filed Wednesday
in U.S. District
Court in New
Haven, alleges
that not only
was Luis Luna
was falsely
arrested, but
his First and
14th Amendment
rights were
violated by the
officers and the
city should be
held liable for
their actions.
According to the
complaint, Luna
is seeking
action against
the city, former
police Chief
Frank Limon,
former Assistant
Chief Ariel
Melendez, and
Kristin
Fitzgerald and
Curtis Miller,
who at the time
of the arrest
were employed as
officers in the
New Haven Police
Department.
On Sept. 25,
2010, Luna, a
Wallingford
resident, was
riding his bike
on Crown Street,
filming and
taking
photographs of
the night life
on his iPhone,
when he saw a
crowd and police
officers
struggling with
three people,
the complaint
states. Luna
stopped and
began to
videotape the
incident from 20
to 30 feet away,
according to the
complaint.
The complaint
alleges that
Melendez then
approached Luna
and asked what
he was doing.
When Luna
responded that
he was filming,
Melendez told
him he was not
allowed to film,
grabbed the
iPhone out of
Luna's hand and
directed
Fitzgerald to
arrest Luna for
interfering with
an officer, the
complaint
states.
While Luna was
being processed
at the police
department,
Melendez handed
Luna's phone to
Miller and told
him to delete
the video Luna
had taken,
according to the
complaint.
Luna reluctantly
agreed to plead
guilty to
creating a
public
disturbance, but
moved to vacate
the plea in
March 2011,
after New Haven
police Internal
Affairs
investigation
found that
Melendez had
engaged in
"conduct
unbecoming an
officer" in
Luna's arrest,
the complaint
states.
Melendez
resigned in
January 2011,
according to the
complaint.
The lawsuit
alleges that the
city of New
Haven and Limon,
who was chief at
the time,
"failed to
provide
supervision and
training to
police officers
with respect to
the right of
citizens to
film, photograph
or otherwise
record the
conduct of
police in public
places and to
retain any
recordings
made."
"The City will
review the
lawsuit and
respond
accordingly at
the appropriate
time," said city
Corporation
Counsel Victor
A. Bolden.
Luna is seeking
a declaratory
judgment against
the defendants,
as well as
compensatory and
punitive
damages,
according to the
complaint.
"This police
conduct in this
case is a clear
violation of not
only Mr. Luna's
First Amendment
right to take
photographs of
the actions of
the police, but
it is also a
threat to the
rights of
journalists and
photojournalists
everywhere in
this country to
practice their
profession
without fear of
arrest," said
Diane Polan, one
of Luna's
attorneys.
Copyright ©
2013, The
Hartford Courant
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