Oct 9, 2009 5:46 pm US/Central
Dolton Officers Sued For Excessive Force, Perjury
Lawsuit Alleges Officers Beat David Smith, Lied On Stand At His Trial
DOLTON, Ill. (CBS) ―
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David Smith enters the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago. Smith is suing Dolton police officers, claiming they beat him when they arrested him in 2008, then lied on the stand to cover up their actions.
CBS
More allegations of wrongdoing have surfaced against Dolton police officers. As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, at least six members of the department -- including the chief of police –- have been sued in federal court in connection with a case of alleged abuse.
The lawsuit alleged that Dolton police officers beat a man they arrested last summer. It also claimed they ignored his pleas for medical attention, planted evidence on him and then lied during his trial to cover up their wrongdoing.
David Smith said he was arrested by Dolton police officers on July 26, 2008, for possession of marijuana, battery and resisting arrest –- charges of which he was later acquitted. But the 29-year-old said he was still suffering from the alleged abuse he endured while in custody of Dolton police.
"I have two children. I didn't want to die that night and the injuries that they gave me, they could have killed me," Smith said. "I kept asking to be taken to the hospital. I told them my nose was broken. I was bleeding profusely out of my nose, the side of my face and they didn't do anything."
Smith's attorney, Lance Northcutt of The Northcutt Firm, P.C., said the alleged abuse -- and lack of action taken by other Dolton police officers to stop it -- is at the heart of their lawsuit.
"In the course of the arrest, he was brutalized. He was beaten severely. His nose was broken. The maxillary sinus in his face was broken, and he sustained a concussion as well as several bruises," said Northcutt.
Northcutt said his client's civil rights were further violated by the "malicious prosecution" which followed his arrest. That's why the village of Dolton, its police chief and inspector general were also named in the lawsuit.
"We believe the evidence is going to show that in the course of the criminal prosecution, the chief of police knowing withheld documents that were favorable to the defense," Northcutt said. "We also believe that the officers who testified at trial, in fact, perjured themselves in an attempt to cover up for their misdeeds."
Northcutt would not say how much the lawsuit is seeking in damages, but his client said that, more than anything, he wants justice.
"I live in Dolton. I work in Dolton and I've had numerous people tell me they had the same the thing happen and they never did anything about it, and it needs to stop," Smith said. "It needs to stop now. They need to be arrested. Something needs to happen."
When asked about the lawsuit, the chief of Dolton police said he didn't know anything about it. Representatives of the Village of Dolton and the Mayor's office did not return calls seeking comment on the lawsuit.
Earlier this week, CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini reported that
a Dolton police officer was caught on tape beating a 15-year-old special education student at the Academy for Learning High School in Dolton.
Marshawn Pitts said the Officer Christopher Lloyd started shouting and swearing at him because his shirt wasn't tucked in. The officer can be seen on surveillance video as he knocks Pitts into lockers and then strikes the boy repeatedly as he lays on the floor.
Lloyd has also been arrested in Lake County , Ind., accused of raping a woman on Sept. 14. He also has been sued by his ex-wife, who claims Lloyd gunned down her new husband in February 2008. He was suspended from the Robbins Police Department in connection with that incident, but eventually was hired by the City of Dolton.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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