Orlando Lopez has filed a $1 million lawsuit against three
Bridgeport officers.
A Bridgeport man has filed a lawsuit claiming police
brutality against three Bridgeport cops. The suit was filed Monday, days after
a video surfaced on YouTube of an arrest of Orlando Lopez. The video shows the
officers standing above Lopez and kicking him as he is lying on the ground.
Officers used a stun gun on Lopez during the arrest in Beardsley Park on May
20, 2011. Lopez and his family say the officers had every right to used
excessive force by kicking and stomping on Lopez after he had been subdued.
The lawsuit claims officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and
Clive Higgins deprived Lopez of his right to be free from excessive force and
his right to due process. Lopez is seeking $1 million in the lawsuit.
"He was embarrassed and scared, his word against
police," said Attorney Robert Berke, about the 20-month delay in filing
the lawsuit on behalf of Lopez. "Having this tape changes the
ballgame."
The three officers have been assigned to desk duty while the
department investigates the incident.