Danbury police officer fired for use of excessive force Officer with history of excessive-force complaints accused of injuring young man in handcuffs

A veteran Danbury police officer with a history of excessive-force complaints has been fired after he was accused of injuring a young man on Main Street while the youth was in handcuffs.

The officer, Daniel Sellner, was fired by the mayor Jan. 14 after an internal investigation of the latest incident, which happened in August.

Sellner can also be seen in unrelated YouTube videos roughly treating a young man in a holding cell 10 years ago and threatening a motorist at a city gas station in 2012. He was suspended without pay for a week in 2013 for making a lewd comment to an elementary school teacher, and he underwent retraining after misusing a Taser on a motorist.

"I expect that all police officers act professionally, treat all persons with dignity and respect, (and) refrain from threatening persons with arrest or use of force simply because they appear to disrespect an officer," Mayor Mark Boughton wrote to the officer in a letter of termination. "Your actions and these violations indicate you are either unwilling or unable to carry out the duties of a police officer in accordance with the high standards expected of the Danbury Police Department."

Sellner, a 19-year veteran and the former vice president of the local police union, is the second police officer in as many years to be fired by Boughton for violating the police department's professional standards.

In 2013, officer Chris Belair was fired after a threatening and profanity-laced tirade directed against an undocumented immigrant.

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Sellner's termination comes at a time of heightened national tensions between police and protesters who are raising awareness about the recent deaths of two unarmed black men -- one in suburban St. Louis, the other on Staten Island -- at the hands of police officers who were not indicted.

Boughton on Tuesday said he did not feel pressured by national events as he deliberated the case against Sellner, which was brought by a young white man.

"I consider the context of the event itself and not what is happening across the country," Boughton said. "We take the issue of excessive force very seriously, and if there is a complaint, we investigate it and take action if it's appropriate."

Sellner's attorney said an appeal to the state Board of Mediation and Arbitration could be filed by the end of the week.

"The decision to dismiss this officer is outrageous," said attorney Norman Pattis. "This was a garden-variety arrest."

Sellner's partner on the call, Dominic Lebron, is the subject of an internal investigation involving the same incident.

Police Chief Al Baker would not say anything about his case because the investigation is pending.

The trouble began Aug. 9 when Sellner and his partner answered a call about after-hours trespassing at the newly built Danbury Skate Park on Patriot Drive.

Police chased several youths to a discount store at 249 Main St., where one of the suspects was taken into custody. The young man, who was not identified, was arrested on multiple charges that were eventually reduced to trespass, a violation.

Baker would not describe the victim's injuries, except to say that he was taken to the emergency room at Danbury Hospital.

The mayor would not comment beyond what he wrote in his letter to the officer.

"The manner in which you led the arrestee out of the General Dollar Store was an unnecessary act of force as he was already handcuffed, there was no reason to believe there was danger of escape, and the video did not show that there was any resistance by the suspect," Boughton wrote. "This unnecessary use of force resulted in the suspect's injury."

Sellner was also cited for failing to accurately describe what happened during the arrest in his reports.

The mayor added in the letter that the pattern of complaints against Sellner indicated "the retraining and prior discipline which you received has had no impact on changing your performance and behavior."

"As a result, I am deeply concerned that in the future you may pose a risk to a fellow officer, persons in our community, or to yourself," the mayor wrote.

Sellner can be seen in a 10-year-old video posted on YouTube entering a holding cell to force a young man in custody to sit down, so forcibly his head hit the wall. An internal investigation at the time found no wrongdoing by police, although the city was sued by the youth and wound up paying a settlement of about $50,000, Boughton said.

Sellner can also be seen on another YouTube video shot with a smartphone in 2012 at a Mobil service station where the officer can be heard threatening a bystander who witnessed an arrest.

"It is extremely disturbing to me that your use of implied threats was the same in both the Mobil gas station incident and the Aug. 9, 2014 incident," Boughton wrote.

Boughton said Seller had also used a Taser inappropriately during a traffic stop and was ordered to undergo retraining.

Sellner made headlines most recently in 2013, when he compared the shape of a cupcake he had been given by an elementary school teacher to part of her body. School officials filed a complaint. Sellner wrote an apology to the teacher and waived his right to file a grievance to challenge his suspension.

The police chief said it is never easy to fire an officer but the department has a strong internal affairs division and he believes the correct decision was made.

"We train people very well, we provide guidance in our rules and regulations, and if we do something wrong we have disciplinary procedures," Baker said. "We have a very professional staff that is interested in maintaining the public trust so we don't sweep problems under the rug. We deal with them."

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342