BURLINGTON — The third federal excessive force lawsuit in the past year has been filed against Burlington, alleging that a Burlington Police Department officer injured a man after dropping his knee into the man’s face with significant force in October 2018.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday afternoon on behalf of Mohamed Luhizo, lists the city, four police officers — Jason Bellavance, Derek Hodges, Cory Campbell and Bryan Kirby — and then-Police Chief Brandon del Pozo as defendants. The department released some body camera footage last week of the Oct. 6, 2018, altercation.
The lawsuit alleges that Luhizo was already being detained when Hodges dropped his knee into Luhizo’s face. Luhizo had a metal plate placed into his jaw and “continued pain and discomfort” as the result of the officer’s behavior, according to the lawsuit.
Deputy Police Chief Jon Murad said Wednesday that he had just become aware of the Luhizo lawsuit, had not yet read it and declined to comment on parts of it he had not yet seen.
But Murad said his opinion of the incident had not changed from last week and reiterated that he believed the officer’s behavior represented good police work.
“A person who had committed a crime, and who was known to be a person who has been involved in many crimes in our city, fled from police was pursued, tried to evade and was unsuccessful in doing so and ended up being apprehended,” Murad said last week. “That’s good police work.”
Attorney Evan Chadwick is representing Luhizo. He is also representing Albin, Charlie and Jeremie Meli, the plaintiffs in a case filed in May. His partner, Rob Spensley, is representing Mabior Jok, the plaintiff in another case filed that same month.
Those men, all African American, sued the department for excessive force, and body camera footage in those cases showed officers pushing and tackling the men.
Bellavance was suspended without pay for less than three weeks for shoving Jeremie Meli and apparently knocking him unconscious.
The Luhizo lawsuit states that Bellavance was under internal investigation in that case when the Luhizo altercation took place.
“The failure of the City of Burlington and Del Pozo to enact more prompt or effective discipline onto Bellavance resulted in another citizen suffering serious injuries as a result of the actions of officers under Bellavance’s supervision,” the lawsuit states.
Bellavance’s discipline for the first incident had not been determined at the time of the Luhizo incident, in which Bellavance had been assaulted, according to Murad.
“He was assaulted in this incident, and was a victim in this incident,” Murad said.
The department said last week that the incident was reviewed by the department and Burlington Police Commission, both of which found that officers had behaved within department guidelines.
Chadwick said that while the complaint and video “speak for themselves,” he did not think the similarities between the earlier cases and this case were coincidental, with overlapping officers, late night timing and downtown location.
“You have someone suffering a serious injury after he had already been detained,” Chadwick said. “There was no need for Hodges to come around and drop his knee into my clients face after he had already been detained.”
The lawsuit states that Luhizo suffered both physical injuries and emotional trauma as a result of his experience.
The city “failed to adequately discipline, train or otherwise direct or supervise police officers concerning the rights of citizens and victims, thereby causing police, including defendants Bellavance, Hodges, Kirby and Campbell, to engage in the unlawful conduct described above,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges that despite the department’s written policies, del Pozo allowed “a pattern of behavior to form within the ranks of the Burlington Police Department which encourages the unlawful use of force against minorities.”
The video released by the department last week showed Campbell and Kirby chasing Luhizo, before Campbell tackled him.
The lawsuit states that Mohamed Luhizo and his brother, Luhizo Luhizo, were socializing with a group of friends on Main Street, and Luhizo Luhizo was “roughhousing” with a friend, Ahmed Museh.
“While the two were roughhousing, no complaint or dissatisfaction was expressed by Museh against Luhizo, nor did any officers allege that Museh was the victim of any crime,” the lawsuit states.
In the affidavit for the criminal charges against Luhizo, Hodges wrote that Luhizo Luhizo and Museh had both fallen to the ground, after which Luhizo Luhizo “got back onto his feet and continued to push and throw punches at two other people who were trying to break up the altercation.” This led Bellavance and Hodges to attempt to take Luhizo Luhizo into custody, Hodges wrote.
Bellavance and other officers brought Luhizo Luhizo to the ground on his stomach, and Luhizo Luhizo said that he could not breathe, according to the lawsuit.
Mohamed Luhizo attempted to help his brother, while accidently coming into contact with Hodges, the lawsuit states. He then ran away as he was fearful for his safety, according to the lawsuit.
Hodges wrote in the affidavit that Mohamed Luhizo pushed him in the back while telling him to get off Luhizo Luhizo.
Luhizo’s attorney, Chadwick, provided an additional 26 minutes of footage to VTDigger from Hodges’ body camera, that starts with Hodges intervening in a group of men, some of whom appear to be pushing each other.
Hodges then chased after Mohamed Luhizo, who, Hodges later said, pushed him in the back.
“Get that motherfucker,” Hodges says in the video as he chases after Luhizo. “Get that motherfucker.”
While the body camera footage does not clearly show his knee as he arrives on the scene, Hodges wrote in the affidavit that his knee “may have” contacted Luhizo’s head, as the lawsuit alleges.
“When I got onto the ground, my knee may have made contact with Mr. Luhizo’s head,” Hodges wrote.
On the ground, Luhizo said he had been injured.
“They hit me in the tooth, they broke my tooth, I did nothing wrong,” Luhizo said. “Look, I’m bleeding.”
In the cruiser on the way to the station, Luhizo tells Hodges that he needs medical attention. Luhizo is later seen bleeding heavily from his mouth in the back of the cruiser before an ambulance arrives on the scene.
Luhizo says he was tackled when he was surrendering and an officer hurt his jaw.
The lawsuit alleges that Kirby called Luhizo “that little fucker” and said “he might be missing a tooth. He’s a shithead.”
Murad said last week that the department was working internally for its officers to use less profanity.
“But that did not cause this incident,” he said. “This incident was caused by two people fighting and using force against police officers, and then one individual fleeing from police officers.“
The lawsuit mentions department data that shows the department disproportionately used force against people of color.
Luhizo was charged with disorderly conduct, impeding a public officer and resisting arrest in connection to the altercation, charges that were dismissed by the state’s attorney.
The charges were dropped in a plea deal in which Luhizo pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct, driving under the influence and providing false information to a police officer, the department said. He served six months of a one to two year sentence and is on probation.
The lawsuit was filed just days after the City Council confirmed the appointment of Jennifer Morrison, the former chief in Colchester, to serve as interim police chief as the city searches for a permanent chief to replace del Pozo.
