Trial may be precursor to excessive force suit against NPD

Trial may be precursor to excessive force suit against NPD Trial may be precursor to excessive force suit against NPD Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Trial may be precursor to excessive force suit against NPD 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NORWALK -- A trial slated to begin this week at Norwalk Superior Court will likely be the precursor to an excessive force lawsuit filed against the Norwalk Police Department, according to an attorney who represents the accused.

William James Irwin, 58, of 35 Van Zant St., will go to trial on Thursday for one count of interfering with a search warrant. Philip Russell, who, along with attorney Jessica Kordas, represents Irwin, claims police "worked him (Irwin) like a pinata" while serving a search warrant on Sept. 8, 2011 that targeted on of Irwin's roommates, convicted drug dealer Peter Sandri. An internal affairs investigation that concluded in 2012 cleared the officers involved in Irwin's arrest of any wrongdoing.

"At this point, we're going to have to find out what happened in the microseconds between when Mr. Irwin was in bed sleeping and when he was lying on the floor with four broken ribs, a punctured lung and contusions up and down his body," Russell said.

Irwin, who suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and needs an oxygen tube to breathe, was lying in bed in the early morning hours of Sept. 8, 2011, when police entered his home while serving a search warrant that targeted Sandri, police said. Officer Anthony DePanfilis went into Irwin's bedroom while at least a dozen officers secured the rooms in the rest of the apartment, police reports show.

Russell claims his client was sleeping at the time of the raid and was thrown to the ground.

Police say Irwin repeatedly disobeyed officers' commands to place his hands behind his back while on the ground, and police used reasonable force to get him to comply with their demands.

Irwin said he placed his hands in front of his chest, because his breathing apparatus would be obstructed if he laid on his chest with his hands behind his back.

In Sandri's room, police found 97 bags of heroin and unspecified amounts of marijuana and cocaine. Sandri is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence after being convicted of the violation of probation and sale of certain illegal drugs.

Irwin had a small bag of marijuana in his closet and was issued an infraction.

Under Police Chief Harry Rilling, the Professional Standards Unit conducted an extensive investigation into the apprehension of Irwin. Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik said officers and eyewitnesses to the incident were interviewed, and officers were found to have acted "reasonable and within our guidelines and state statutes."

"It's unfortunate that the individual was injured as a result of the altercation," he said.

Kordas said the defense has received several hundred pages of internal affairs reports pertaining to the incident in advance of the trial. Russell said the internal affairs investigation "concluded that the police department had acquitted themselves adequately, even though the police report said Mr. Irwin injured himself in the process of interfering.

Since late last week, Kordas and Russell have been selecting jurors for the trial.

Six jurors and two alternates are slated to sit in on the trial. Russell said once the criminal charges are settled, Irwin will pursue civil action against the Norwalk Police Department.