Civil rights and police brutality cases

Thornton v. City of Albany, 831 FSupp 970 (NDNY 1993) (Excessive force – Police killing innocent person)

            On July 8, 1984, police officers were called to a third-floor apartment on Clinton Avenue in Arbor Hill, a predominantly black neighborhood in Albany. They entered the apartment of Jessie Davis, a 35 year old mentally ill man who lived alone. Davis was not charged with any crime. Five officers confronted Davis in his bedroom, who according to the police, came at them with a knife in one hand and a fork in the other. Three of the five officers fired, and Davis was shot once in the back and once in the top of his head. Jesse Davis died while being taken to the hospital.

            At the grand jury, all of the officers testified that Jessie Davis was agitated and was unable to be calmed. When he tried to attack the officers with a knife and long-tined serving fork, they had no choice but to open fire. All of the officers were cleared of any wrong doing.

            Mr. Oliver represented Jessie Davis’ family in lawsuits against the police officers. After several years of litigation, Oliver discovered a photograph of Davis taken minutes after the shooting that completely refuted the story of the police officers. The photograph showed mortally wounded Davis laying on the floor of his bedroom clutching a key case in his left hand and a toy truck in his right hand. There was no knife.  The photograph, which was never seen by the grand jury, was published on the front page of the Albany Times Union in 1993. This photograph proved the lies and wrongdoings of the officers.

            In 1994 the lawsuit against the City of Albany and the officers settled for $540,000. The Mayor of Albany, Gerald Jennings, issued a public apology, “Mr. Davis was not accused of any crime at the time of the incident, and he was undergoing medical treatment for a mental health condition. In settling this case with the Jessie Davis family, the city is acknowledging that it would have been better if this incident had been handled by medical health professionals in conjunction with the police department.”

The killing of Jesse Davis and lawsuit were the catalyst for several political changes in the Capital District concerning the treatment of black citizens by white police officers. Most notably, the City of Albany established a procedure with the Capital District Psychiatric Center (CDPC) whereby a social worker would accompany Albany Police on all calls concerning a mentally ill person. However, no law or regulation requiring a police-mental health team was enacted, and the practice fell into disuse by the Albany Police Department. In 1985 the Center for Law and Justice was founded as a direct response, and has been at the forefront of most major criminal justice issues of concern to residents of New York State. See Alice P. Green, PhD, “Pathways to Change: African Americans and Community Policing in Albany”, Center for Law & Justice, September 2013, at pages 1, 3 to 4.

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Landor v. Town of Colonie, unreported (Police frame innocent person)

            In June 1979 the Landor teenage children were menaced by their next door neighbor’s police dog and threw beer bottles at it to keep the dog at bay.  Their neighbor, officer Bruce Harper of the Town of Colonie Police Department, called for police assistance and the arrest of Kevin and Paul Landor. Five months later in November 1979, a 23 year old woman was raped in her Latham apartment after opening the door to a man who identified himself as a police officer and said he needed to use her telephone for an emergency. Kevin Landor, a 16 year-old Shaker High School student, was subsequently arrested and charged with rape and sodomy. Landor was convicted in 1981, but the verdict was overturned on appeal. People v. Kevin Landor, 92 AD2d 625 (3d Dept 1983). In 1984 Mr. Oliver represented Kevin Landor in a second trial, and Kevin was acquitted.

            Mr. Oliver represented Kevin Landor in a civil rights lawsuit in federal court which alleged that Detective Lauren Coager of the Colonie Police Department had framed Kevin Landor by withholding evidence and suppressing facts that would have eliminated Landor as a suspect in the rape case in retaliation for the incident with the Colonie police dog. Mr. Oliver argued that the fingerprints from the scene could not be linked to Kevin Landor, the victim had poor eyesight and could not have clearly seen her attacker, the police used slanted photo arrays, and a witness with a lengthy criminal record was out of state at the same time he supposedly saw Kevin Landor in the area. Oliver produced another woman who lived in the same apartment complex and who also had a visit from a man on the same night as the rape using the same tactic to enter her apartment by showing a police badge, and this woman testified she was certain the man was not Kevin Landor. E. Stuart Jones, Jr., testified as an expert witness for Landor in federal court.  Mr. Oliver alleged that the evidence Coager had concealed would have exonerated Kevin Landor in the 1981 rape trial.

            A federal court jury found that the Detective Coager acted intentionally and with reckless indifference when he withheld exculpatory evidence that lead to the false conviction of Kevin Landor. The jury awarded Kevin Landor $825,000 in compensatory damages. This jury verdict was the largest ever awarded against a police agency in the Capital District.

         See Carol DeMare, “Man says cops hid evidence”, Albany Times Union, 1/9/90; John Caher, “Raped woman testifies”, Albany Times Union, 1/5/90; John Caher, “Evidence Withheld, attorney testifies”, Albany Times Union 1/6/90; John Caher, “Civil rights counts dropped against 2”, Albany Times Union, 1/10/90; John Caher, “Judge rules that prosecutor should have shared evidence”, Albany Times Union, 1/11/90, at page B2; Carol DeMare, “Prosecutor denies withholding evidence”, Albany Times Union, 1/12/90; Carol DeMare, “Prosecutor defends actions in rape case”, Albany Times Union, 1/13/90; Carol DeMare, “Punitive damages ruled out”, Albany Times Union, 1/17/90; Carol DeMare, “Evidence–withholding allegations go to jury”, Albany Times Union, 1/18/90; Carol DeMare, “Man gets $825,000 in suit against Colonie Police”, Albany Times Union, 1/19/90, at page A-1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kelly v. City of Schenectady, unreported (Excessive force - use of Taser)

            Robert Kelly was wanted on a warrant for firing a single shot into a residence on Christler Avenue in the City of Schenectady. In November 2009, US Marshalls learned from an informant that Kelly would be in a vehicle near the Cotton Factory Bridge over Interstate 890. A task force of US Marshalls, Schenectady police, and Schenectady County sheriffs stopped the vehicle when it was in the middle of the bridge. Kelly exited the vehicle and took off running and was chased by a deputy sheriff with a police dog. Kelly scaled a 15 foot high chain-link fence running along the side of the bridge. While scaling the fence, Kelly realized that he was surrounded by police and did not have an escape route, so he alerted police that he wanted to surrender. At which time, the deputy sheriff fired his Taser at Kelly from four feet away, lodging barbs above his lip and neck. The electric jolt from the taser caused Kelly to lose his grip on the bridge and plummet nearly 70 feet onto the edge of I890. Kelly survived but broke his back and shattered his ankle.

            Mr. Oliver represented Kelly in an excessive force lawsuit against the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department and Schenectady Police Department, and settled the suit in Mr. Kelly’s favor. See Justin Mason, “Schenectady city, county settle convict’s Taser injury claim for $280K”, The Schenectady Gazette, 8/12/13.

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United States of America v. Heliczer, Martin, et al., 373 F2d 241 (2d cir 1967) (Mr. Oliver’s first personal encounter with law enforcement)

Shortly after arriving in New York City to study at NYU Law school, on August 11, 1965 Mr. Oliver had his first encounter with law enforcement. Oliver attended a benefit performance for Jack Martin, the brother of the poet Agnes Martin. Jack Martin and Piero Heliczer, the poet and master of ceremonies at the showing of underground movies, were acquaintances. During the performance five federal narcotics agents and detectives from the Narcotics Bureau of the New York City Police Department sought to arrest Martin for threatening an informant. A fight ensued between friends of Marin in the audience and the narcotics agents. One of the agents described Oliver as “a very nice gentleman”. This experience helped shape Oliver's perspective toward law enforcement.