OLD SAYBROOK — A town resident is suing Old Saybrook claiming he was assaulted and tackled to the ground by two officers and falsely accused of driving while intoxicated.
The lawsuit, filed June 6 in the U.S. District Court for Connecticut, alleges that the police officers’ actions reflect a pattern in the department of inappropriate use of excess force, poor communication and rushed judgment. The suit also alleges that the town has repeatedly ignored “patterns of possible misconduct by its police officers” and that internal affairs investigations are only prompted after someone either complains or files a lawsuit.
Old Saybrook First Selectman Carl Fortuna declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying only that counsel has been hired. Katherine Rule, the attorney for Zarbo and Simpson, also declined to comment on the complaint. Wolak’s attorney Paul Spinella, Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael Spera and Simpson did not return requests for comment. Zarbo could not be reached for comment.
According to the complaint, town resident Scott Wolak was sitting in a car outside his home around 6 p.m. in late November on a phone call with a hospice nurse. At the same time, officers James Simpson and Joshua Zarbo had allegedly received a call about a white Chevy Silverado that was driving erratically. The lawsuit states Zarbo approached Wolak’s car — a black Cadillac Escalade — knocked on the window, and “falsely accused” Wolak of erratic driving and driving while intoxicated.
Wolak...
Although on appeal the court distinguished that there was new information in the claim, the court ultimately found the new information was not material, nor was it plead with particularity. The U....