Lawyer with gun arrested at New Haven ‘Dark Knight Rises’ showing sues cops Lawyer says cops violated rights at ‘Dark Knight Rises’ showing

Sung-Ho Hwang, an attorney in New Haven, is shown in this 2012 photo. Hwang carried a gun legally into a New Haven movie theater in 2012. Sung-Ho Hwang, an attorney in New Haven, is shown in this 2012 photo. Hwang carried a gun legally into a New Haven movie theater in 2012. Photo: Mara Lavitt — New Haven Register FILE PHOTO Photo: Mara Lavitt — New Haven Register FILE PHOTO Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Lawyer with gun arrested at New Haven ‘Dark Knight Rises’ showing sues cops 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> A defense lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the city and Police Chief Dean Esserman over the way the Police Department handled a 2012 incident during which the man — who has a gun license — was arrested while he had the weapon at a Temple Street movie theater .

Immigration attorney Sung-Ho Hwang claims in the suit filed last month that the city, Esserman and four officers violated his state constitutional rights when they arrested him at the Criterion Cinemas, 86 Temple St., on Aug. 7, 2012.

Hwang, past president of the New Haven County Bar Association, was arrested at the Criterion after officers rushed to the scene in response to reports that other movie partons saw Hwang enter the theater armed with a gun

Hwang was charged with breach of peace and interfering with officers. He is licensed to carry a concealed weapon. The charges eventually were dropped.

The suit names as defendants the city, Esserman and Lt. Jeff Hoffman, Sgt. Robert Criscuolo and Officers Matt Marcinzyk and Leonardo Soto. The lawsuit claims the police under the direction of Esserman affected a false arrest on Hwang, and that the city engaged in malicious prosecution.

The lawsuit seeks more than $15,000 in damages.

“The crux of the case is that the police chief ordered an arrest in a case where he did or should have known it was an improper arrest,” Hwang’s attorney Steven Errante said Wednesday. “(Hwang) was fully licensed and registered to carry a gun, which is something the police knew at the scene.”

Neither a representative of the city attorney’s office nor Esserman could be reached for comment.

The lawsuit further alleges that Esserman was not certified to act as a police officer in Connecticut at the time and therefore could not order Hwang’s arrest.

The lawsuit also claims that Hwang suffered mental anguish, humiliation and endured damage to his reputation as a result of the arrest.

Hwang was waiting for the beginning of the “Dark Knight Rises.” The opening of the film was the backdrop for a horrific mass shooting in Colorado just weeks before Hwang was arrested in New Haven.

The lawsuit was filed on August 5 and the city has until Oct. 2 to respond to the lawsuit. Errante said the process could drag out and the depositions in the case may not begin until next year

Movie-goers at the time described the incident at the Criterion as terrifying.

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