A Bridgeport man has filed a lawsuit claiming police brutality against three Bridgeport police officers.
The suit was filed Monday, days after a video surfaced on YouTube of an arrest of Orlando Lopez. The video shows the officers standing above Lopez and kicking him as he is lying on the ground. Officers used a stun gun on Lopez during the arrest in Beardsley Park on May 20, 2011. Lopez and his family say the officers had every right to used excessive force by kicking and stomping on Lopez after he had been subdued.
The lawsuit claims officers Elson Morales, Joseph Lawlor and Clive Higgins deprived Lopez of his right to be free from excessive force and his right to due process. Lopez is seeking $1 million in the lawsuit.
"He was embarrassed and scared, his word against police," said Attorney Robert Berke, about the 20-month delay in filing the lawsuit on behalf of Lopez. "Having this tape changes the ballgame."
The three officers have been assigned to desk duty while the department investigates the incident.
Lopez is serving a five-year sentence on an unrelated weapons charge.
Photo Credit: YouTube