A man who was framed by corrupt New Haven cops has filed suit against the police department, arguing that the blame extends higher up the chain.
Norval Falconer (pictured) spent four weeks in jail on narcotics charges after two city detectives planted drugs in his Truman Street apartment. The former detectives, Jose Silva and Justen Kasperzyk, were sent to jail on corruption charges, as was their supervisor, former Lt. Billy White.
Falconer filed a $10 million civil rights lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in New Haven. The suit names Silva, Kasperzyk and White as well former Police Chief Francisco Ortiz and the City of New Haven.
Click here to read the complaint. Click here to read the accompanying exhibits.
The suit contends that Ortiz and the city “created a custom of acceptance” of the narcotics unit’s “constitutionally offensive pattern of conduct,” thus allowing for Falconer’s false arrest.
“The pattern of abuses in the Narcotics Unit was widespread, blatant and of long standing,” charged Diane Polan, Falconer’s attorney in a press statement. “This corruption went beyond Billy White and his crew.”
Polan charged that the department ran on a “‘hang ‘em high’ atmosphere of making narcotics arrests at any cost, regardless of their legality.”
“This was not just Billy White policy,” she charged — “this was the official policy of Chief Ortiz and the City of New Haven.”
Rob Smuts, the city’s Chief Administrative Officer, replied that the wrongdoing was contained to three bad apples, Silva, Kasperzyk and White.
“The three individuals engaged in some illegal, unconstitutional, and indefensible actions,” Smuts said — but “the only people engaged in those corrupt activities were those three individuals.”
“The lawsuit says there was an encouragement to break the law to enforce the law,” said Smuts. “That’s just absurd.” He said the individuals were motivated by “greed, pure and simple” — not by marching orders from higher up the chain of command.