[kellyhound]

A Connecticut police officer has been indicted on a charge he violated a tasered suspect's civil rights after being caught on videotape appearing to stomp the downed man's head and neck, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

Clive Higgins, a 12-year veteran of the Bridgeport Police, was due in court on Friday to be arraigned on the felony charge of using unreasonable force during the 2011 arrest, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Connecticut said in a statement.

If convicted, Higgins, 48, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In May 2011, two Bridgeport police officers were chasing Orlando Lopez-Soto's van on suspicions that he had a gun. The officers called for backup, and Higgins responded, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Lopez-Soto ditched his car and fled into a nearby park, where he was tasered by one of the pursuing officers.

In a widely circulated amateur video, the two officers, Elson Morales and Joseph Lawlor, can be seen kicking the victim repeatedly while he is on the ground. Then Higgins arrives in his cruiser, gets out and appears to stomp the downed suspect around the head and neck.

Morales and Lawlor pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor civil rights charges stemming from the assault. As part of the plea deal, they agreed to resign from the police force.

"The use of unreasonable force during an arrest is not only a clear violation of an individual's civil rights, but also gravely undermines the community's trust in law enforcement," U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said at the time.

In January 2013, Lopez-Soto filed a civil lawsuit against all three officers. The parties settled out of court, Lopez-Soto's attorney Robert Berke said. The Connecticut Post reported that the city agreed to pay Lopez-Soto $198,000 over the incident.

The Post also said that Lopez-Soto was serving five years in prison after being convicted on weapons and drug possession charges, as well as for failing to appear in court.

Lawlor and Morales had been riding in their patrol car shortly after 5 p.m. the day of the assault, when they saw a red van with tinted windows traveling eastbound on Shelton Street. They turned on their lights in an attempt to pull over the van, but it drove off at high speed. They pursued the van through the city's East Side, where they said it nearly struck several cars and blew out two tires during the chase. The van then drove into Beardsley Park, where it eventually became stuck in high grass.

Lopez-Soto leaped from the driver's door of the van, jumped on the hood of the police car and ran, the police report said.

"Myself and Officer Morales gave chase on foot and yelled to Lopez-Soto to stop or he would be Tased, but he continued running," Lawlor said in his report. "Fearing that he might have a gun, Officer Morales deployed his department-issued Taser and fired one shot at Lopez-Soto, striking him in the back. He immediately stopped running and fell face-first to the ground."

Lawlor said he grabbed Lopez-Soto's right arm and attempted to place it behind his back, but Lopez-Soto struggled with him, trying to get off the ground. Morales then used a stun gun on Lopez-Soto again.

Lawlor said he then handcuffed Lopez-Soto, who had a gun holster on his belt.

The officers said they then searched the van and found a loaded handgun on the floor, along with plastic bags containing suspected drugs.

[dirty ike]

Don't know the whole story but that was fucked up. Maybe there was a bee or spider on him. Just sayin.

[Shakey]

Originally Posted by dirty ike ↗

Don't know the whole story but that was fucked up. Maybe there was a bee or spider on him. Just sayin.

[spills]

$198,000 ?????? Fucking Hell!!!! Civil rights? You foreit them when you act uncivilised! Fucking Hell! What a cunt! I hate it when genuine bastards get a good hiding, and then get compensated! Then people moan about the police not doing enough, and criminals getting it easy! AAAARGH!

[Pyramid_Head]

Funny how all the cops joined in.

[spudigitti]

Looked like a team building exercise they all did get in on it,good for police morale in one way..

[DaveDude]

Penalty on the blue team. Unnecessary imitation of a soccer player in the US. Off setting penalties, replay the down.

[zin0]

Protect and serve

[nyazzip]

that is more than"unreasonable force"... its "battery with intent to cause great bodily harm", or even "mob action". dumb cops.
not saying the guy didn't deserve it though, probably did
....wait til martano666 sees this video, he's gonna have a stroke

[Fr33dom]

you know, in every police brutality case, there is this moment. Other cops come in, victim is a the ground "OH YEA, hes on the ground already, i want to kick too ! ME TOO !, and me too ! - i have a bad going marriage, my kids fuk me up and i earn not enough, but hey i can kick and kill people without getting problems, so i can let my frustration go !"