Krayeske v Hartford in Bridgeport Federal Court, Friday, 11/6/9, 2 p.m.

by: ken_krayeske

Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 13:01:58 PM EST

Bridgeport, CT: On Friday, November, 6, 2009 at 2 p.m., at the federal district court in Bridgeport, judge Stephan Underhill will hear oral arguments on motions for summary judgment in Krayeske v. Hartford, the civil rights lawsuit I  filed.

   I am inviting all persons interested in watching to attend the hearings. I filed the civil rights lawsuit against three Hartford police officers, two state cops and the city of Hartford for false arrest, false imprisonment, excessive bond and free speech violations on May 24, 2007.  

   It's been almost three years since I filed the suit, and this is the first day in court.

   Motions for summary judgment are part of the pre-trial process, and they test the factual sufficiency of a case. In writing the motions for summary judgment, the state police revealed that during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, they weren't just looking into the affairs of the Green Party, but peeking into other political activities, like those of Democratic gubernatorial candidate John DeStefano, as Courant reporter Jon Lender described May 31, 2009.

   As it stands now, one defendant, Officer Jeffrey Antuna of the Hartford Police Department, did not even file a motion for summary judgement. So a trial will happen for at least one defendant, and perhaps more, depending upon how Underhill rules. A trial date for mid-2010 seems likely.

   The two state police officers (Sgt. Mark Cassista and Detective Pedro Rosado), the city of Hartford, and two Hartford cops (Andrew Weaver and Mack Hawkens) have filed to essentially dismiss the case. They all argue that the facts don't support his claims.

   However, they all argue three different versions of the events.

   There are enough opposing stories of what happened on January 3, 2007 at the inaugural parade of Gov. M. Jodi Rell as to justify a jury trial.

    I think they all are trying to throw each other under the bus.  Defending this lawsuit is an unfortunate waste of taxpayer dollars. Had Gov. M. Jodi Rell taken responsibility and come clean earlier in the process, the state wouldn't be wasting valuable resources shielding constitutional tortfeasors from liability.

   Attorney Norman A. Pattis or Attorney Kevin Smith from Pattis' office will represent me before Judge Underhill. Underhill's clerk sent out a notice in September stating that he could rule from the bench, but I expect a decision to take more than 90 days to decide whether or not the defendants' arguments that the arrest were reasonable are bunk.

   This is a step along the way to justice.

   Attorney Stephen Sarnoski from Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office is representing the two state police officers. Attorney Joseph McQuade of the Hartford law firm Kainen, Escalera and McHale is the counsel of record for Antuna, Hawkens and Weaver, while the city of Hartford's office of corporation counsel is defending the claims against the city.