[T]he widow of a man shot and killed by a Burlington police officer in 2013 is suing the city, the police department and the officers involved on eight counts related to her husband’s death, including two counts of excessive use of force.
Barbara Brunette filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Burlington on March 27, almost a year and a half after her husband, Wayne, was fatally shot by a Burlington police officer.
Wayne Brunette, 49, was shot four times by Burlington Police Cpl. Ethan Thibault in early November 2013, court records say. Officers responded to a 911 call from Wayne Brunette’s mother, Dolly, that her son, whom she identified as mentally ill, was behaving erratically.
Thibault and Cpl. Brent Navari arrived on the scene and were confronted by Wayne Brunette, who was wielding a shovel, court records say. Brunette allegedly moved toward the officers, prompting Thibault to fire his weapon, court records say. Wayne Brunette later died from the injuries.
Local prosecutors said in December 2013 that neither officer would face criminal charges for the shooting. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office also cleared the officers of wrongdoing.
However, in the lawsuit, Brunette alleges that the officers violated search and seizure protections in the U.S. Constitution and the Vermont Constitution and also violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Brunette and the estate of her late husband are named as the plaintiffs in the case. The lawsuit asks for compensation for pain and suffering and loss of consortium, but does not specify a dollar amount.
“Somebody who didn’t deserve to die died,” Richard Goldsborough, one of two attorneys representing Brunette, said Thursday.
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with physical or mental impairments.
The lawsuit contends that the city of Burlington and the Burlington Police Department is responsible for failing to adequately train officers and dispatchers to respond to situations involving mental illness.
“Not only did the city condone Cpl. Thibault’s actions as an acceptable use of deadly force, these unconstitutional practices are sanctioned under the Burlington Police Department’s policy for the use of deadly force,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit cites a 400 percent increase in calls involving mental illness between 2008 and 2013, and says that the city failed to adjust law enforcement policies in the face of the surge of mental health calls.
Thibault and Navari are named in the suit, along with Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling.
The officers, who were informed by dispatchers of Wayne Brunette’s mental health condition, “created an atmosphere that they knew was likely to confuse and agitate a person experiencing a mental health crisis,” by showing up with their blue lights on, the document states.
“If this case can provide some incentive for police departments to improve their internal procedures and training with respect to individual citizens with mental health issues that’s a good thing,” Goldsborough said.
The lawsuit lists eight counts against the officers, the police department and the city, including loss of consortium for Brunette and her two daughters.
The Burlington Police Department and Schirling were negligent in hiring Thibault because he has “numerous complaints filed against him for the use of excessive force,” the lawsuit states.
Last month, Schirling announced plans to retire in June. He did not return calls for comment for this article.
According to court papers, Navari said in an interview after the shooting that he had not received training for dealing with people with mental health issues.
Burlington City Attorney Eileen Blackwood said that the city believes that all Burlington police officers are trained under Act 80, a state program initiated in 2006 that provides training for law enforcement in handling situations involving mental health issues.
She also said that the Burlington Police Department does additional mental health training for officers, and works with the Howard Center, a Burlington-based human services center, on educating officers in how to deal with mentally ill individuals.
“This is one of those kind of incidents that everybody is sorry happened,” Blackwood said. However, she said that the city does not believe that Navari or Thibault used excessive force or acted improperly.
Blackwood said that the city will hire outside legal counsel for the case.
Allen Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that the lawsuit indicates that there is a perception that there are questions about the case that have not been answered.
“People feel a whole story isn’t being told,” Gilbert said.
