[A] federal judge has thrown out claims in a police brutality lawsuit against Rutland City and its police department, but an attorney says he’s pressing forward in his case against an officer he alleges used excessive force when arresting his client.
Judge Christina Reiss issued the ruling in a case, pending in federal court in Burlington, brought by a former Rutland woman who says city police officer Ryan Ashe slammed her to the ground leading to a concussion and other injuries when taking her into custody.
The officer in a court filing in support of the disorderly conduct charge brought against the woman wrote that she was so drunk she couldn’t stand up and fell down when he walked around the side his cruiser and tried to put her inside the vehicle.
The charge was later dismissed. Chelsea Smith-Wallett, who now lives in South Carolina, earlier this year sued not only Ashe, but also named the city and its police department as defendants.
Following the filing of motions, the judge last week granted the city’s request to dismiss claims against both the municipality and its law enforcement agency.
“Plaintiff’s Complaint does not contend that her treatment during the incident with Officer Ashe on July 24, 2015 was caused by or occurred pursuant to an official custom or policy of the City of Rutland,” the judge wrote.
The ruling added, “(The lawsuit) does not venture beyond a ‘threadbare’ claim that Defendant ‘had in effect policies, practices, and customs that condoned and foster the unconstitutional conduct of the Officer Ryan Ashe.”
Reiss then dismissed the lawsuit against the city and its police department, allowing Hart to refile the claims with more specific allegations within 30 days of the Oct. 18 decision.
“I’m not going to do that,” Matthew Hart, a Rutland attorney representing Smith-Wallett, said Thursday. “I’m just going to go forward against Ashe so Ashe is still in and that’s really the main target of the lawsuit anyway.”
Holding a municipality liable in such a case is a high bar to cross, Hart added.
“You have to show that the city knew about it and condoned it, which you’re never ever going to find,” the attorney said. “You’re never going to find someone say, ‘Hey let’s go out and take people’s constitutional rights away, or let’s go out and beat people up.’’”
Kaveh Shahi, a Rutland attorney representing the city, the police department and Ashe, could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Dash cam video from the officer’s cruiser does not show the moment when the incident is alleged to have occurred on the side of the vehicle.
Smith-Wallett alleged that she suffered a mild concussion as well as other injuries, including bruises to her arms and a large scrape on her knee as a result of Ashe throwing her to the ground while arresting her.
According to the lawsuit, at about 1:24 a.m. on July 24, 2015, Smith-Wallett was sitting on the corner of Wales and Center streets smoking a cigarette with her friends when she was approached by Ashe.
She told Ashe that she was not driving and that she was going to go home with her brother, who was also there, according to the filing.
“Officer Ashe then told (Smith-Wallett) that she was drunk in public, passed out on the sidewalk and that she can ‘do this the easy way or the hard way,’” according to the lawsuit.
“While this was happening,” the lawsuit stated, “(Smith-Wallett) was pleading with Officer Ashe to let her go home with her brother at which time Officer Ashe became angry and slammed (Smith-Wallett) to the ground causing (Smith-Wallet’s) head to hit the ground along with her right knee.”
Ashe arrested Smith-Wallett for disorderly conduct, alleging that she was abusive and used obscene language in public, according to the lawsuit.
At the city police station, Smith-Wallett took a breath test. It registered a 0.256 blood-alcohol level, well above the 0.08 legal limit to drive in Vermont. She told the officer at the scene before she was arrested that she had no intention of driving.
The lawsuit alleged that at the time of Ashe’s hiring in Rutland in April 2014 he was about to be fired by the Glens Falls Police Department in New York where he had been working previously. Ashe had received three notices of discipline prior to resigning from that department, according to Hart’s lawsuit.
In 2016, the Rutland Herald reported that those violations of the Glens Falls Police Department’s regulations included allowing his girlfriend to fire his service firearms, images of which he posted on social media. He also took his cruiser outside Glens Falls without the city’s permission, the newspaper reported.
In the lawsuit, Smith-Wallett alleged that city was negligent in hiring Ashe, disregarding his “history” in Glens Falls.