"The Village of Bellows Falls apologizes to Wayne Ryan for any inconvenience or embarrassment he may have endured as a result of his arrest on June 21, 2006," according to the letter dated Jan. 13.
Ryan also received a $22,500 settlement from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, which manages a risk pool for Vermont municipalities and represents them in lawsuits such as this.
The cost to the village was its $500 deductible.
"We are glad to put this behind us," said Jim Mullen, municipal manager for Bellows Falls and Rockingham. "We appreciate Wayne's contributions to the community. He's very involved in making sure Bellows Falls is a successful village."
"We're happy that this has been settled," said Ryan's attorney, Alan Biederman.
More important than the cash settlement though, he said, was the written apology.
"When a government is willing to issue an apology, the citizen is usually gratified."
The settlement was reached during mediation, which is required during any civil suit process in Vermont.
In addition to the village, Ryan also named former Bellows Falls Police Chief Keith Clark and former Bellows Falls Police officer Sgt. John Dunfee, the state police and
Trooper Eric Vitali.
Both Clark, who is now the Windham County Sheriff, and Dunfee were dismissed from the suit, said Biederman.
"I am pleased with the fact I was dismissed as a defendant in this case," said Clark. "I stick to my position, as I have said all along, that the lawsuit against me was without basis. Had this case gone forward the jury would have found in my favor."
Dunfee was unavailable for comment.
The suit is still pending against the state police and Vitali.
In June of 2006, Vitali and Bellows Falls police officer Christopher Brooks, who wasn't named in the suit, 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. Because Brooks had identification, he was allowed in.
During the confrontation with police, Ryan 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.
Following the incident, Dunfee told Ryan that if he didn't let the officers in he would close the bar. But Ryan contended that closing his bar would have meant a big loss in revenue because it was Alumni Weekend in Bellows Falls.
Five days later, Vitali returned to the bar with several others from the state police to arrest Ryan for impeding a public officer.
In his lawsuit, Ryan, the owner of Nick's Food and Spirits, accused the defendants of violating his constitutional rights when they arrested him.
A Reformer photographer took pictures of the arrest.
At the time the suit was filed, Biederman alleged that Clark told the photographer about the upcoming arrest in retaliation for critical comments made about the police department prior to an important budget vote.
Biederman alleged that Clark "expressly took action to ensure that a 'perp walk' photograph or photographs would be taken of (Ryan) while he was in custody."
Instead of his arrest, Ryan should have been issued a citation, said Biederman.
"The decision to arrest, rather than to issue a citation to appear in court, was made to intimidate and cause fear," according to court documents he filed.
The case against Ryan was thrown out by Judge Katherine Hayes in May 2007.
In her written decision, she stated that the state's case did not show that Ryan broke any law by refusing to allow Vitali to enter Nick's.
Still, she did not come to the complete defense of Ryan, calling his actions "unnecessarily brusque, but by no means abusive."
Biederman filed suit against the Bellows Falls Police Department for failing to comply with the Vermont Public Records Act after he requested dispatch logs for June 16 and 21, 2006, but the Bellows Falls Police Department refused to turn over those records to him.
That complaint was resolved in 2007 after the department turned over the dispatch records to Biederman, who was paid $523 in legal fees by the village.
Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 273.