Suit Claims Plainclothes Norwalk Cops Unlawfully Stopped Black Man w/o Identifying Themselves & Assaulted Him Causing Brain Injury

From [HERE] and [HERE] A judge announced it will allow a police brutality case against four Norwalk police officers to move forward. Cody Greene, a Black man, suffered from the alleged beating by public servants in July of 2014.

His attorney filed a $10 million lawsuit in Federal court against the City of Norwalk and four Norwalk police officers alleging civil rights violations. The 19-page lawsuit alleges that police officers violated Greene's civil rights and caused a series of injuries, some of which were deemed permanent. In addition to the City of Norwalk, defendants are police officers Steven Luciano, Felipe Taborda, Adam Mulkern, and Julio Rodriguez.

The action is being brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 and 42 U.S.C. 1988 and the first, fourth, fifth, eighth, and eighteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

According to the lawsuit to be filed, Greene was visiting a friend at 16 School St. when a black vehicle with tinted windows pulled up next to him and the four defendants, all dressed in black exited the vehicle and began asking him questions.

"At no point in time did the individual defendants identify themselves as police officers, nor were the individual defendants wearing and/or displaying any clothing or badging that identified them as such. At that point, and for no reason, defendant Mulkern attempted to 'pat down' the plaintiff."

The complaint further alleges that the fearful plaintiff ran from the scene and the police officers engaged in a foot pursuit. During the foot pursuit, the suit further alleges that a gun was pointed at Greene and he was Tasered.

"The plaintiff tired, Tasered, and staggering fell with his arms outstretched ...Thereafter Defendant Luciano rolled the Plaintiff over on his back, placed his knees on the Plaintiff's outstretched arms, sat on the Plaintiff's chest, and beat the Plaintiff's head and face numerous times with closed fists and elbows," according to the complaint.

According to a police report dated July 19, 2012 police say: "We were dressed in black Raid type uniforms with 'POLICE' in bright yellow letters, making us immediately identifiable as Norwalk Police Officers."

His attorney, Phil Russell said, "Cody was accosted by four people in civilian clothes who demanded he submit to a search. When he ran away, he was chased and when he was caught he was Tasered and beat up...His injuries are prodigious and are outlined in the complaint. They are life-altering injuries and this is a tragedy."

Among the injuries to Greene claimed in the complaint are: Left orbital fracture, left upper and lower jaw fractures; fractured nose and septum; left eye hemorrhage; hemorrhage in posterior temporal lobe of brain; cerebral concussion and traumatic brain injury; stuttering disorder; post traumatic stress disorder; nerve damage to face and nose; post traumatic headaches and insomnia; facial numbness, impaired balance and gait; and deficits in attention, concentration, word finding, detail orientation, and short term memory.

The lawsuit alleges that, "The Plaintiff's injuries, or some of them, will be permanent in nature and/or permanently disabling."

"Because of the injuries sustained, the Plaintiff was transported to Norwalk Hospital via ambulance, placed in a medically induced coma, placed in intensive care, and remained in the hospital for four days," according to the complaint.

Greene was charged at the time with two felonies: Possession with intent to sell, a possession of a controlled substance within 1,500 feet of a school or housing complex, and four misdemeanors: Two counts of interfering with a police officer, possession of a controlled substance; and criminal trespass.

He was arraigned in his hospital bed on allegations of selling marijuana in a housing complex and led police on a foot chase in which three officers were injured. Two of the officers were hospitalized; one with a gouge to his leg requiring 15-20 stitches and another officer with a hamstring injury.

"The unlawful possession charge was based on marijuana that was found in a window well of the complex, and the interference charges were based on injuries the officers sustained in the chase," Russell said. "Cody was cleared of most charges and was placed in a diversionary program for minor offenders."

"The officers were cleared in an internal investigation," Russell said.