BURLINGTON — A federal judge has dismissed some of the claims in an Upper Valley man’s lawsuit asserting that Hartford police used excessive force when they responded to an erroneous report of a burglary at his Wilder home, but other claims in the lawsuit appear headed to trial.
U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss in a ruling Monday on a request for summary judgment said Wayne Burwell’s claims that police used excessive force, committed assault and battery and intentionally inflicted emotional distress can go to a jury. But she dismissed several other claims, including false arrest and unlawful restraint; negligence; and a claim against the town of Hartford and then-Police Chief Glenn Cutting.
Reiss earlier had dismissed a complaint from Burwell, who is African-American, that he had been discriminated against because of his race.
Hartford police pepper-sprayed and struck Burwell with a baton at his Wilder home in May 2010 when they responded to a report that the residence had been “ransacked” and that an unknown male was inside.
