E. Haven man files suit against judicial marshals

Alleges ‘excessive force’ used; Marshals move to keep security camera footage out of public eye

A 19-year-old East Haven man alleges in a federal lawsuit that four judicial marshals lied about using excessive force against him while he was in custody at the New Haven County Courthouse in January 2017.

The lawsuit claims Josue Matta, then 18, was beaten and pepper-sprayed by judicial marshals Christopher Dadio, Luther Cuffee, John Slaven and Victor Colon while he was handcuffed and shackled, as allegedly shown by the courthouse’s security cameras. However, the judicial marshals’ statements allegedly didn’t match what was depicted on the footage, according to the lawsuit, leading the Judicial Marshal Service and the state judicial branch to investigate Matta’s claim of being beaten.

The lawsuit claims Matta feared he would die during the severe beating. While he doesn’t remember everything, the lawsuit said Matta recalled boots to his face and head, and his head hitting the concrete floor. He suffered two black eyes, a concussion and numerous cuts and bruises all over his body, according to the lawsuit.

“My client was in handcuffs and ankle shackles. He was not a harm to himself or anyone else. You don’t beat a guy silly because you think you can get away with it, and you’re going to teach him a lesson that the courts aren’t going to teach him,” said Matta’s attorney Kenneth Krayeske.

The lawsuit says Dadio received a 20-day suspension after the internal investigation, according to the lawsuit.

Krayeske said he believes if there were not surveillance footage, the judicial marshals “would have gotten away with it,” as no one would have believed an 18-year-old Puerto Rican inmate.

Judicial branch spokeswoman Rhonda StearleyHebert said the agency, under which the Judicial Marshal Services falls, declined to comment on pending litigation. Jaclyn Severance, spokeswoman for Attorney General George Jepsen, said the case will be reviewed and they will respond appropriately but declined to comment further.

On Jan. 10, 2017, Matta was being held at the New Haven Correctional Center, 245 Whalley Ave., in lieu of $50,000 bail for an alleged criminal offense. That morning, he was transferred to the New Haven County Courthouse, 121 Elm St., according to the lawsuit.

Before appearing in court, the marshals placed Matta in the on-site lock-up facility in the basement of the courthouse. When the court was ready, the judicial marshals brought him upstairs, and following his appearance, they brought him back down, the lawsuit states.

On Matta’s way down the back staircase from the courtroom to the lock-up facility, the lawsuit states he and Dadio exchanged insults. The lawsuit alleges Dadio threw Matta in the holding cell and then attempted to open the door. A restrained Matta, allegedly fearing Dadio meant to harm him, pulled the door shut to protect himself. Dadio then attempted to again open the door, and Matta, once again, pulled the door shut with his handcuffed hands, according to the lawsuit.

The suit claims Dadio then took his pepper spray and sprayed it in Matta’s eyes, causing him to collapse in pain. The lawsuit alleges Dadio took advantage of Matta’s temporary blindness and inability to breath and started beating the inmate. The three remaining marshals — Cuffee, Slaven and Colon — then joined the beating, and threw punches and kicks at Matta, who was still handcuffed and shackled.

The marshals then took Matta to another holding cell and washed the pepper spray from his eyes, the suit says. They allowed him to sit in that holding cell with serious medical issues, allegedly refusing to to give him any medical attention, according to the lawsuit.

The marshals kept him in a holding cell without food well into the evening, so that he was the last person in the courtroom basement holding cells. They then put Matta in a transport van by himself to prevent other prisoners from seeing the extent of his injuries, the lawsuit states.

However, an incident report filed by Dadio states as he was touring the cell block tour, Matta yelled out. Upon turning to look at Matta, the inmate allegedly spit in Dadio’s eye. The report said Dadio then called out for assistance and gave a verbal command for Matta to step back and place his hands down by his waist.

“Matta then stepped back and took a fighting stance,” Dadio wrote. “I then gave Matta a command to comply or he will be sprayed. He refused that command and said, ‘We all going to fight.’”

The report states Dadio opened the cell door and gave one-quarter-second burst of pepper spray. Dadio and the other marshals then went into the cell and placed Matta in a prone position. However, Matta allegedly continued to fight, so the marshals then placed his hands behind his back.

Once Matta calmed down, the report states Colon washed the pepper spray from his eyes.

Following the incident, Matta was charged with assaulting a peace officer. During the proceedings, Assistant State’s Attorney James Turcotte, who was prosecuting the case, subpoenaed the surveillance footage of the incident from the courthouse’s video cameras, but Adam Mauriello, who represented the Judicial Marshal Services, filed a motion for a protective order regarding the footage.

In the motion, Mauriello argued public disclosure of the footage would provide a “veritable roadmap” for individuals to counteract or circumvent security measures used by the judicial branch. He wanted the footage to be used only for trial purposes and not have it released to the public.

According to the lawsuit, these videos and most of the documents of the internal investigation have been placed under seal by Connecticut Superior Court Judge Corinne Klatt.

“The only reason (the judicial branch) filed that motion is because what’s on those videos is so completely and totally inflammatory that they don’t want it to get public,” said Krayeske.

While Matta eventually pleaded guilty to the assault charge, Krayeske said it still didn’t give the judicial marshals the right to allegedly use excessive force against him.

“A person in shackles and handcuffs who is an empty cell presents no threat to himself or the custody officers, and there is no reasonable use of force, even if the cuffed person spits on the officer,” he said. “The person in handcuffs cannot be beaten bloody and unconscious simply because the officers want to teach him a lesson.”