ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A motion for a partial summary judgment has been granted in a former inmate’s lawsuit against the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Richard Dzionara-Norsen was convicted of possession, receipt, and distribution of child pornography. According to the Department of Justice, he was to serve 72 months in prison and 10 years of supervised post-release.
A video News 8 obtained in March showed Dzionara-Norsen getting into an exchange with Jail Deputy David Gertin. After some words, Gertin restrained him against a wall, and Deputy Brett Kirkpatrick punched Dzionara-Norsen in the face multiple times. Dzionara-Norsen filed a lawsuit for the beating.
A judge granted a motion for partial summary judgment on his claims against Kirkpatrick for excessive force and for assault and battery under New York State law. This means that it happened as a matter of law, and the jury won’t need to make that decision when it comes time for trial.
In the decision, the judge says, “There is no other way to describe Kirkpatrick’s use of force in this case except as gratuitous and unreasonable.” The jury will only need to decide how much monetary compensation to award.
Elliot Shields is the attorney for Dzionara-Norsen. He says decisions like this have been rare in his career.
“Usually in cases of excessive force, there’s some question: ‘Did the person who force was used against resist at all? Was there any reason that the deputy could have lawfully been entitled to use force against that person?’ Here, based on the clear video evidence, the judge held no, there was absolutely no reason, there was no justification under clearly established law going back decades. Based on this video, there was no reason for Deputy Kirkpatrick to punch him only once, let alone four times in the face,” said Shields.
Eugene Welch, a partner at Tully Rinckey, says the jury may find that Kirkpatrick was already sufficiently punished and that Dzionara-Norsen isn’t entitled to further compensation.
When the incident happened, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office conducted an internal investigation and found that Kirkpatrick used excessive force. He was suspended for 20 days, but was able to use vacation days to get paid the whole time. Shields says that is a slap on the wrist.
