Newport police sued over punches captured on video. What the lawsuit says.
PROVIDENCE – The 23-year-old man repeatedly struck last June by a Newport police officer in an encounter captured on a viral video is suing the City of Newport, accusing the officer of violating his civil and constitutional rights.
Christopher Adam, of Newport, on Monday sued the city, its Police Department through Chief Ryan Duffy and Officer Patrick Walsh and other unnamed officers over the altercation on Thames Street on June 26, 2022.
He accuses Walsh of using excessive force, falsely arresting and imprisoning him, assault and battery, defamation and other counts in the complaint brought in U.S. District Court.
Adam alleges, too, that the city and Duffy breached their duty to him by failing to adequately train, monitor and supervise its officers to ensure their conduct in dealing with the public were not negligent, unsafe or in violation of people’s civil rights.
He asks the court to declare that the city’s policies and actions violated his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, excessive force and false arrest. He wants the court to direct the city to properly select, train, instruct, supervise and discipline its officers. He is seeking unspecified damages.
A spokesman for the Newport police did not immediately respond to a phone inquiry Tuesday.
Adam says the officer punched him in the head twice
According to Adam’s complaint, he was headed home from One Pelham East at 1:20 a.m. June 26, 2022, when he came across Walsh on the sidewalk in front of Newport Blues Café.
As he stopped, he claims that Walsh “suddenly and without warning” struck him directly in the face with an open hand, using such force that it knocked him to the ground.
He recounted laying on his stomach in the street with Walsh’s weight on top of him and his hands behind his back as Walsh struck him again, this time with a closed fist in the face.
The punch left him with a concussion and a black eye and led to pain and suffering, lost wages and embarrassment, as well as medical bills, he said.
He alleges that despite his “losing mental cognition and being physically affected” by the two punches, Walsh proceeded to place him under arrest and put him in the back of a cruiser without providing any medical care. He accused the other officers of failing to intervene.
He was charged with obstruction and resisting arrest, though he did not commit those offenses, he said. The charges were later dismissed.
As a consequence, his good name was defamed, he said in the complaint filed by his lawyer, Adam J Resmini.
What the police reports said
According to police reports at the time, Officers John Sullivan and Neil Sullivan were placing Dennis S. Engelson under arrest for allegedly throwing a bar mat at people walking by and acting belligerent.
Video footage showed Walsh, who responded to assist with crowd control as the bars let out, aggressively pushing two men. Walsh then struck Adam in the face when he approached and drove him to the ground.
While on the ground, Walsh could be seen striking Adam a second time as he lay on his stomach.
Walsh arrested Adam for “interjecting himself into the situation,” according to the report. The police said Adam “startled” Walsh by walking up behind him as the other officers were arresting Engelson.
The police charged Engelson, 23, with disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer in the execution of duty and resisting legal or illegal arrest. Those counts were also dismissed.
The Office of the Attorney General, state police and Newport Police Department investigated the incident pursuant to the Attorney General's Use of Force Protocol. In October, the Statewide Grand Jury returned a "no true bill," declining to charge Walsh with violating the law.
Lawyer's attempt to contact Newport police goes unanswered
Adam's lawyer, Resmini, said he reached out to Newport police before filing the action but received no response.
"This incident has been traumatizing for Mr. Adam and has brought unwarranted/unwanted publicity to a situation that should never have occurred. I believe the video of the officer’s actions that night speaks for itself. It is police misconduct like this that the American citizenry fears," Resmini said in an email.
Newport police declined to comment, saying the matter is in litigation.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Man punched by Newport cop in Thames Street brawl in viral video sues
