(This story by Jordan Cuddemi was first published in the Valley News on Sept. 27, 2017.
BURLINGTON — A former Wilder resident who sued Hartford police in 2012 alleging officers used unreasonable force against him inside his own home settled on Wednesday with the two remaining defendants in his case.
Wayne Burwell will receive $500,000, a sum that includes attorney’s fees. The settlement included no acknowledgement of wrongdoing by the two officers, Frederick Peyton and Kristinnah Adams.
“I’m just happy it’s done,” Burwell told the Valley News in a brief statement. “It’s a big relief.”
The case started more than seven years ago when Peyton, Adams and a third officer, Scott Moody, responded to an erroneous report of a burglary at the then 36-year-old’s Wilder home on May 29, 2010.
The officers pepper-sprayed and repeatedly struck Burwell with a baton when they found him sitting naked on a toilet. Burwell, it was subsequently reported, was suffering from a hypoglycemic event triggered by a medical condition and only was semi-conscious at the time.
The officers maintained that Burwell wasn’t complying with commands and that they acted reasonably in response to the situation they were facing at the time. The state Attorney General’s Office cleared the officers of criminal wrongdoing, and an internal investigation by the Hartford Police Department found they didn’t violate the use-of-force policy.
Burwell’s lead attorney, Robin Curtiss, said he was satisfied with the resolution of the case.
“We feel good that all of the effort added up to a settlement that made sense for our client,” Curtiss said on Wednesday. “There were a lot of stepping-off points along the way, and we kept fighting until we got something that we thought made sense.”
The decision to settle didn’t come easy and entailed a calculation of the risks, costs and time involved with pressing ahead, Curtiss said.
Even if the case went to trial and a verdict was returned, that wouldn’t have been the end of the road.
“It would have begun another round of appeals,” said Cristina Rousseau, another one of Burwell’s attorneys. “There was a lot to be said for closure for everybody.”
James Carroll, the attorney who represented the officers, seconded that sentiment.
“It has been a long time coming for everyone involved, with no real end in sight in terms of the litigation going forward with potential future appeals,” Carroll said. “The officers involved are all good, well-meaning people. They all deserve to see this thing come to an end. Mr. Burwell is also a good, well-meaning person. We all wish him well. It’s been a long haul.”
Hartford Town Manager Leo Pullar declined to discuss the settlement on Wednesday.
The money will come out of one of two insurance funds Hartford pays into at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, a nonprofit organization that serves Vermont’s municipal governments, said Joe Damiata, the director of risk management services for VLCT.
More specifically, the money will come out of the Property and Casualty Intermunicipal Fund, to which Hartford contributed $381,000 this year and $440,500 last year, he said.
Asked why VLCT agreed to the settlement, Damiata said, “we felt it was in the best interest of the member (the town of Hartford), the employees involved and the Property and Casualty Intermunicipal Fund.”
Hartford Police Chief Phil Kasten also offered a statement on the resolution.
“I am certain this has been a long, difficult process for all of those involved, including the larger community,” said Kasten, who wasn’t with the department when the incident occurred. “It is my sincere hope this will allow everyone to move forward together.”
A message left for former police Chief Glenn Cutting, who was the head of the department at the time, wasn’t returned on Wednesday.
The Case
Burwell, an African-American, filed his lawsuit in federal court in June 2012. He alleged that unreasonable force had been used against him, and also argued that his civil rights had been violated.
In addition to the three officers — Peyton, Adams and Moody — he also named Cutting and the town of Hartford as defendants.
U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss ruled several of the claims were unsubstantiated. For example, in a 2013 ruling, Reiss determined there was insufficient evidence to support Burwell’s claim that the officers were motivated by racial bias.
The claims against Moody, Cutting and the town of Hartford were later dismissed by the judge.
The trial was scheduled to start on Tuesday. Had it proceeded, three claims remained to be tried: excessive use of force, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Burwell, a fitness trainer who owns a gym in Lebanon, currently lives in Hanover. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1997.
Peyton recently gave his two weeks’ notice in Hartford; he will end his employment as a patrol officer on Oct. 13.
Adams remains employed at the department and is a detective with the special investigations unit.
Pullar, the town manager, said he feels both Peyton and Adams are fit to be police officers.
“I have the utmost confidence that they will continue to perform their duties and continue to represent the town,” he said.
