Windham County Sheriff's Department
~ Breaking News ~

Wayne Ryan, owner of Nick's, a bar in Bellows Falls, also named former Police Chief (and current Windham County Sheriff) Keith Clark, along with the village of Bellows Falls, Sgt. John Dunfee, the Vermont State Police and Trooper Eric Vitali, asking for damages in a suit filed in U.S. District Court.

The lawsuit was filed in Federal Court in Rutland by Ryan's attorney, Alan P. Biederman, whose Rutland law firm is also suing the Bellows Falls Police Department for failing to comply with the Vermont Public Records Act -- Biederman requested dispatch logs for June 16 and 21, 2006. The Bellows Falls Police Department continued to refuse to turn over those records.

In Ryan's suit, Biederman said it comes down to the fact that his client's constitutional rights were stepped on. But he was sure to point out that this case is not just about picking on cops.

"I have been police officer representative most of my career and I'm suing these police officers only because this was terrible police work," he said Tuesday. "It's just not how it's supposed to be."

In one of six claims within the suit, Biederman alleges that Clark, as police chief in Bellows Falls, "expressly took action to ensure that a 'perp walk' photograph or photographs would be taken of (Ryan) while he was in custody."

The sole purpose of the publicity, Biederman writes, "was to embarrass and humiliate" Ryan in retaliation for his critical comments directed at the police department leading up to an important budget vote.

In June last year, Vitali and Bellows Falls police officer Christopher Brooks (who is not being sued), were under cover when they showed up at Nick's to check for underage drinkers. Ryan, checking identification at the door, refused to let Vitali in when he failed to present ID.

Ryan eventually placed his hands on Vitali's shoulders and "lightly pushed" him toward the door.

In later testimony, both officers said the push was "directional" rather than confrontational. Both left the bar, despite the fact that Brooks was allowed in, because he had ID.

Vitali then reportedly took out his handcuffs and was willing to have Ryan arrested for obstruction of justice, a charge that Biederman said has no application in the incident.

Brooks called his superior, Dunfee, who arrived at the bar and told Ryan either he let the officers in or he would close the bar. Being Alumni Weekend and a very busy night at Nick's, the complaint says, closing would have meant a big loss in revenue. The lawsuit also states that Dunfee would have had no right under Vermont law to shut down the bar.

Five days later, Vitali returned to the bar with several others from the state police to arrest Ryan for impeding a public officer.

"The decision to arrest, rather than to issue a citation to appear in court, was made to intimidate and cause fear" with Ryan, the complaint reads. Vitali reportedly contacted Brooks, who then notified Clark. Though Bellows Falls police had nothing to do with the arrest, Clark reportedly notified the Reformer of the state police's plans to make the arrest.

The case against Ryan was thrown out by Judge Katherine Hayes in May. In her written decision, she states that the state's case does not show that Ryan broke any law by not allowing Vitali into his business.

"The court concludes that these facts are insufficient to meet the state's burden, and that the charge against the defendant must therefore be dismissed," she wrote.

Still, she did not come to the complete defense of Ryan, calling his actions "unnecessarily brusque, but by no means abusive."

Additional claims within the suit allege that police officers violated federal and state legislation by failing to accommodate Ryan's two disabilities -- he is deaf and has a prosthetic leg.

"They refused to believe he was deaf," Biederman said.

"Trooper Vitali and Defendant Vermont State Police made no accommodation whatsoever on account of (Ryan's) disability to provide any means of communication by which police officers might effectively communicate to (Ryan) what was occurring during the arrest, transport or booking process," the lawsuit reads.

Biederman said he obtained video from state police showing officers speaking to Ryan with their backs turned to him. Ryan can read lips to a certain extent. At some points during his processing, an officer wrote notes on paper to communicate to Ryan. They also made Ryan's son, who is able to communicate with his father, sit in the waiting room at the police barracks in Rockingham.

"This is just an unfortunate case where it could have been handled very easily," Biederman said.

Ryan's suit is asking for a jury trial. Biederman said from this point, the defendants will have an opportunity to respond to the complaint, presumably by denying it. After that, the case will go into discovery. He added that civil cases in federal courts vary on how long they take.

Both Clark and Dunfee declined comment for this report. Other defendants contacted did not return phone calls.

Patrick J. Crowley can be reached at pcrowley@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 277.