City man sues police in tasing incident
A city man who was tased and arrested in a September 2015 incident is suing the two Kingston police officers involved, alleging they violated his constitutional rights.
Fabian Marshall, 27, alleged in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, that he was subjected to excessive force by the officers, which caused him physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and lost wages.
The suit names Kingston police officers Jeremy Arciello and Michael Mills as defendants and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
According to the lawsuit, Marshall was waiting on Broadway at approximately 10:30 a.m., Sept. 4, 2015, for his aunt to give him a ride to work. At that time, Marshall was approached by Arciello while police officers were trying to find a “short, bald, middle-aged, lightskinned African American man” who allegedly had pushed an elderly rider off his bicycle near Broadway, the suit said. Marshall is described in the lawsuit as a “tall, thin, dark-skinned African American man with shoulder-length hair” who was 25 at the time.
Arciello asked Marshall what was happening and, during the course of that interaction, Marshall began recording the incident with this cellular phone, the lawsuit said. The suit said Arciello became “demonstrably angry” and told Marshall to put his hands behind his back.
Marshall complied, according to the lawsuit, and then Arciello grabbed him around the neck and threw him against the side of a police patrol car. The suit said Marshall fell to the ground with Arciello still holding him in a “necklock.”
Arciello then proceeded to punch Marshall about his body and head, the suit said.
The lawsuit said Mills then came running and began to “stun-tase” Marshall while yelling at him to stop fighting. Marshall was not fighting or otherwise resisting arrest, according to the suit.
While Marshall was held on the ground by Arciello, Mills “stun-tased” him several times by driving the Taser directly into Marshall’s body, the suit said. The lawsuit said Marshall
was stun-tased more than 15 times, causing him “great pain and agony.”
Officer Harry Woltman, president of the Kingston Police Benevolent Association, said it has been well documented by the Kingston City Court, the city’s police commission and city administration that Marshall was only dry stunned twice with a Taser. He said it is inflammatory, not just for the public, but for his union’s membership, to have someone claim Marshall was stunned 15 times.
“Clearly, our officers will be exonerated,” Woltman said Saturday.
Part of the incident was captured on video by Marshall’s cell phone and by the dash camera in Arciello’s patrol vehicle and his body-worn camera, the lawsuit said. The suit said the video shows a short, balding, light-skinned, middle-aged African American man running past the scene where Marshall was being beaten.
The lawsuit said it is believed that man was the one being sought for the alleged assault on the bicyclist.
Following the incident, Marshall was charged with the misdemeanors of obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. He ultimately was convicted in Kingston City Court on Nov. 3, 2017 of obstructing governmental administration and was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge.
On April 5, the five-member Kingston Board of Police Commissioners declined to take disciplinary action against the officers.
The lawsuit said Marshall was not provided medical treatment but, after being released from custody Sept. 4, 2017, was taken by family to Northern Dutchess Hospital. The hospital documented bruises to his face and body, as well as ordered CT-scans and Xrays, the suit said.
The lawsuit said the hospital put Marshall’s right shoulder in a sling.
Attorney Christopher Watkins, who represents Marshall, said in a press release Friday that Arciello and Mills’ actions did a disservice to police officers everywhere, “the majority of whom would never engage in this kind of misconduct.”
“Of course, all lives matter, but when people of color are treated like this by police officers who are supposed to protect us, it shows why we need to be constantly reminded that black lives matter,” Watkins said.
Woltman said the city would provide legal counsel to represent Arciello and Mills.