Officer in stun-gun case wins appeal

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut police officer who used a stun gun on a 12-year-old deaf boy at his school acted reasonably and cannot be sued by the boy’s parents for excessive force because of government immunity, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York decided in favor of now-retired West Hartford officer Paul Gionfriddo, who appealed a lower court judge’s denial of his request to dismiss the claims against him in the parents’ lawsuit. The appeals court overturned the lower court and ordered it to issue a judgment for Gionfriddo.

Gionfriddo and another officer responded to the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford in April 2013 when school officials reported the boy had assaulted a teacher during a dispute over a takeout food order. School officials say the boy hit the teacher with a stick and rocks outside the school.

Police said they ordered the boy to drop a large rock and warned him they would use a stun gun if he didn’t. Teachers at the school translated the officers’ commands and warnings in sign language to the boy, who police say ignored officers’ orders.

Gionfriddo shot the boy once with stun gun wires and administered electroshock for five seconds, then deployed a second electroshock that allowed officers to get handcuffs on, officials said.

The boy claimed he was defending himself after a teacher assaulted him. He also denied receiving and understanding the teachers’ sign language interpretations of the police commands.