Suit in fatal Easton raid kept alive

A brief video shows nine police officers, wearing helmets and armored tactical gear, lining up outside a small gray ranch house in Easton which claimed 33-year-old Gonzalo Guizan of Norwalk A brief video shows nine police officers, wearing helmets and armored tactical gear, lining up outside a small gray ranch house in Easton which claimed 33-year-old Gonzalo Guizan of Norwalk Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Suit in fatal Easton raid kept alive 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT -- A federal judge Wednesday removed some of the defendants, but kept alive a lawsuit that claims heavily armed police officers from five area towns used unreasonable force and violated their own training procedures when they burst into an Easton home in May 2008 and fatally shot a Norwalk man who was watching television with a friend.

In a 46-page decision, U.S. District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton ruled sufficient evidence exists for a jury to decide whether members of the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team, staffed by officers from towns in the region, used unreasonable force as alleged in the lawsuit filed by the family of Gonzalo Guizan and Easton homeowner Ronald Terebesi. But the judge said only former Easton Police Chief John Solomon, who called out the team, could also be considered liable in the case. She dismissed the counts in the lawsuit against Monroe Police Chief John Salvatore, Trumbull Police Chief Thomas Kiely, Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello and Wilton Police Chief Edward Kulhawik.

"It is undisputed that none of the police chiefs except Solomon actually participated in the planning or the implementation of the operation," the judge stated.

"We are pleased with the decision and ready to move forward with the trial," said Morgan Ruecker, who represents the Guizan family. He said they plan to meet with the judge next week to schedule the trial.

Arthur Laske III, who represents the town of Trumbull, said he hadn't yet seen the decision and couldn't comment.

The 33-year-old Guizan was shot half a dozen times by Monroe officer Michael Sweeney during a SWERT raid at Terebesi's home at 91 Dogwood Drive in Easton on May 18, 2008.

Guizan had been watching television in the home with Terebesi, when the 21-member police team, armed with automatic weapons, broke down the door and threw flash grenades inside.

The lawsuit states that Solomon and a police captain made the decision to call in SWERT after an exotic dancer who had earlier been at the home told them she saw Terebesi and Guizan take "something" out of a small tin, place it in two small glass smoking pipes and smoke it. She never told officers there were weapons in the home, the suit states.

The suit states that as late as the previous day Terebesi had spoken to police and agreed to cooperate with them regarding allegations of drug use in his home.

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