NEW HAVEN, Conn., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A New Haven, Conn., man claims the political climate created by an anti-drug crackdown in the city led to his civil rights being violated in a false arrest.
State's Attorney Michael Dearington dropped drug charges filed last year against Norval Falconer after three New Haven narcotics officers were found to have planted evidence and committed other misdeeds. But Falconer's attorneys claim his constitutional rights were violated because city officials were on an anti-drug crusade that condoned police lawlessness, the Hartford Courant reported Tuesday.
Falconer is seeking $10 million in the lawsuit, the first to arise in the wake of the 2007 arrests of Lt. William White, head of the police department's narcotics enforcement unit, and Detectives Justin Kasperzyk and Jose Silva, the Courant said.
"Obviously, we deplore the actions of White, Kasperzyk and Silva, which we think were clearly illegal and corrupt," Robert Smuts, New Haven's chief administrative officer, told the newspaper. But city officials say the corruption was limited to the three and wasn't part of a wider effort to infringe citizens' rights.
