Two Ithaca Police Department officers have been accused of using excessive force, illegally detaining a suspect as well as falsifying their reports to support their account in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the City of Ithaca, the two officers, the department and former IPD Chief John Barber.

Ithaca College student Kyle Goldstein filed the 65-page complaint April 3 in the U.S. District Court Northern District alleging:

The two officers illegally entered his residence on Nov. 17, 2016 without first trying to find the resident.

Illegally detained and then arrested Goldstein without cause.

Pepper spraying Goldstein after handcuffing him and throwing him to the floor of his living room.

The suit also states that Officers Jacob Allard and Daniel Bechtold violated Goldstein's rights by falsifying their field reports to justify their actions later.

The Tompkins County District Attorney's Office later refused to prosecute, instead seeking a dismissal.

Body cam footage shows officers quickly entering the house

Officers Allard and Bechtold responded to a complaint of a loud party at the Hudson Street residence around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 17. Officers Allard and Bechtold who were both wearing body cameras during the incident.

An Ithaca Journal review of hours of body camera footage from the incident and after found that officers entered the residence, after asking one partygoer if they knew who lived in the residence, less than 2 minutes after arriving. More than 100 people stream out of the party as officers begin to break it up.

After entering the building and encountering a woman inside the open door of the apartment, officers asked her if she knew who lived at the house. She responded "I don't know." The officers entered the apartment and began to break up the party, directing people to leave.

On Officer Allard's body camera, Officer Bechtold can be seen motioning to Kyle Goldstein, the party's host. This is confirmed on Officer Bechtold's body camera footage, as he can be seen approaching Goldstein and asking him, "Alright buddy, you live here?" to which Goldstein responds "Yes, I do."

Goldstein appears to move away from Officer Bechtold as he leans in to talk to someone off camera. Goldstein is seen being pulled back toward the officer, an action the lawsuit argues amounts to illegal detention. On Officer Bechtold's camera footage he can be heard telling Goldstein not to move. Goldstein can be heard asking the officer why he is being detained.

Allard's body cam footage then shows him approaching Bechtold and Goldstein. Allard can be seen taking Goldstein by the left arm and cuffing him as Goldstein can be heard asking "why am I being detained?"

Taser brandished at partygoers

As Officer Allard stood with Goldstein, who was now handcuffed and facing the wall, a young woman, identified in the lawsuit as Julia Judge, approaches Goldstein and Officer Allard. She steps in close to Officer Allard attempting to speak with him before being pulled backward by Officer Bechtold, who then throws her to the ground.

At this point, Goldstein can be seen yelling and pulling away from Officer Allard. The officer throws Goldstein to the ground next to Judge, who was being held by Officer Bechtold.

The crowd can be heard protesting as the two people are thrown to the ground by the officers. Officer Bechtold can be seen brandishing his taser at the crowd and demanding they get back. The officers had been in the apartment for about 5 minutes.

Footage show officer pepper spraying a handcuffed Goldstein

A young woman, identified in the lawsuit as Madison Wahler, can be seen on Allard's body camera telling the officer she is not going to leave the house. Wahler is kneeling by Goldstein's head, in front of Officer Allard.

Officer Allard, while yelling for Wahler to leave, can then be seen pushing her backwards onto the ground. Goldstein is seen yelling inaudibly in response to the officer pushing Wahler. Allard grabs the struggling Goldstein and holds him down on his back. Allard is then seen removing his pepper spray from his belt and discharging it into Goldstein's eyes from about a foot away, actions the lawsuit contends amount to excessive force.

A review of the officer's body cam footage shows Officer Bechtold as well as Julia Judge, whom he had been detaining, being affected by the pepper spray. At this point the officers had been in the house for 6 minutes.

Goldstein, for hours subsequent to his arrest, can be seen in pain and asking the officers to let him clean the pepper spray out of his eyes, which they allow him to do after arriving at the station, at approximately 1:25 a.m., almost 90 minutes after Officer Allard's amended report says Goldstein resisted arrest and was pepper sprayed.

On body cam footage in the station from after the incident another officer can be seen asking Allard if he had cuffed Goldstein before he had pepper sprayed him, which Allard confirms.

The lawsuit alleges, due to the officer's actions, Goldstein suffered chemical conjunctivitis as well as an abrasion in his left eye. Goldstein wore a protective lens while the abrasion on his eye healed and a bandage for three days after. According to the complaint, the bandage was removed on Dec. 5, 2016.

The Ithaca Police Benevolent Association says it has faith that the legal system will vindicate the officers.

"The Ithaca Police Benevolent Association supports its members during this difficult time and will continue to do so," said IPBA President Eric Doane. "We trust in the legal system and are confident that justice will prevail."

DA's office dodges why they refused to prosecute

Goldstein was initially charged with obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest according to Allard's statement from Nov. 28, 2016. The officer later amended his statement to the sole charge of resisting arrest.

The statement from Officer Allard says that Goldstein was "attempting to place his head near [Officer Allard's] groin area appearing to either be attempting to bite/headbutt [Officer Allard]," which the lawsuits argues is not supported by the video evidence.

A letter from Assistant District Attorney Brad Rudin to Chief City Court Clerk Ronna Collins dated January 9, 2017, states that the District Attorney's Office would not be prosecuting the charges and would instead seek a dismissal.

The Tompkins County District Attorney's Office refused to clarify the specific reasons they did not prosecute Goldstein.

"There are many reasons why a District Attorney’s Office might decide not to prosecute a specific case. We have to take into account all the information available to us in order to make that determination," said District Attorney Matthew Van Houten. "Given that there is pending litigation regarding the Goldstein case, I cannot give any specific comment or explanation about the decision to dismiss the charges against Mr. Goldstein."

A representative from the Ithaca Police Department told the Journal that the department does not comment on ongoing litigation and that if reporters wanted to review the department's policies on use of pepper spray or tasers, that the Journal would need to make a formal records request. The requests are pending.

The lawsuit states that both officers should have intervened in the activities of the other officers and also names the city, the police department and then-Police Chief John Barber for creating an environment that would allow for such an incident.

The City Attorney's Office did not respond to request for comment.

A status and scheduling conference will be held before United States Magistrate Judge David Peebles on July 5, 2019, at 11:30 AM at the United States Courthouse, at 15 Henry Street, Binghamton, New York.

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