From [HERE] The West Hartford Town Council last week settled a nearly decade-old legal dispute involving a 12-year-old deaf boy who was shot with a stun gun by a town police officer on the campus of the American School for the Deaf in 2013.

The council on July 14 unanimously voted to approve settling a lawsuit filed by Amato Muschette, a former student at the American School for the Deaf, for $250,000.

Muschette alleged that officer Paul Gionfriddo, who has since retired, used excessive force when he used a stun gun on Muschette, who is deaf and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to court papers.

Gionfriddo and another officer responded to a call to the American School for the Deaf in April 2013 after school officials said Muschette, who was 12, assaulted a school employee after he was denied a request for food.

Muschette became upset and fled to a nearby construction site on campus where he allegedly threatened school employees and police with rocks and a stick, according to court papers.

The suit claimed that when Gionfriddo arrived, he ordered Muschette to drop a large rock he was holding. Muschette, the suit said, had his eyes closed and did not hear or understand Gionfriddo’s commands.

Police in their report disputed that claim, saying school staff translated police orders to Muschette, who ignored the warnings. Less than 2 minutes after arriving on scene, Gionfriddo tasered Muschette in the back, the suit said.

After police could not get Muschette handcuffed, Gionfriddo sent a second shock through the already-deployed wires that were still connected to Muschette.

Muschette, through his lawyers Eric Baum and Andrew Rozynski, filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging, among other things, Gionfriddo used excessive force in using a stun gun.

The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed against Gionfriddo in 2018 on appeal by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which said Gionfriddo had a reasonable basis to believe Muschette posed a threat to himself or other staff members.

Muschette, however, also filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the town and Gionfriddo in state court alleging assault and battery. The Town Council voted to settle that action, without comment, on July 14 after a brief explanation by West Hartford corporation counsel Dallas Dodge.

In an email, Dodge said that the town would pay $72,000 and the he town’s insurer would pay the remaining $178,000 of the settlement amount.

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

Efforts to reach Muschette’s attorney for comment were not successful.