Four East Haven, Connecticut, Police Officers Charged with Civil Rights Offenses

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury sitting in Bridgeport, Conn., returned an indictment charging four East Haven Police officers with conspiring to violate, and violating, the civil rights of members of the East Haven community. This morning, Sergeant John Miller and Officers David Cari, Dennis Spaulding and Jason Zullo were arrested without incident. The indictment was unsealed today.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, from approximately 2007 through 2011, Miller, Cari, Spaulding and Zullo, while acting under color of law, conspired to injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate various members of the East Haven community in violation of their constitutional rights.

The indictment alleges that Miller and others maintained and perpetuated an environment in which the use of unreasonable force and unreasonable searches and seizures was tolerated and encouraged. It is alleged that Cari, Spaulding and Zullo engaged in unreasonable searches and seizures, including unlawful searches of premises and arrests of individuals without probable cause or based on false and misleading information, and that Miller, Spaulding, Zullo and another officer used unreasonable force during lawful and unlawful arrests. 

It is alleged that this unreasonable force was used when victims were unarmed, neither resisting nor interfering with the police, but rather securely under the control of the police or otherwise cooperative. In some cases, the victims were handcuffed with their hands behind their backs when officers assaulted them. Some of the victims were particularly vulnerable because they were undocumented aliens or otherwise marginalized, having little perceived standing in the community, and thus unlikely to raise objection to the abuse.

The indictment further alleges that Spaulding and Zullo intimidated, harassed and humiliated members of the Latino community and their advocates. Spaulding and Zullo also allegedly conducted unreasonable and illegal searches at Latino-owned businesses, and Spaulding allegedly intimidated and harassed advocates who worked to defend the rights of members of the Latino community.

The indictment alleges more than 30 overt acts by the four defendants and others in furtherance of the conspiracy, including:

A July 2007 incident during which Miller and another officer used unreasonable force against a victim in the vicinity of the Saltonstall Parkway;     

A November 2008 incident during which Spaulding used excessive force against an individual in the parking lot of a Latino-owned restaurant and bar. Spaulding then arrested the individual under false pretenses to cover-up the assault and prepared a false report to justify the false arrest;

A January 2009 incident in the same parking lot during which Spaulding and Zullo arrested three individuals under false pretenses and with Miller and Cari present. Zullo then used excessive force against two of the individuals in the EHPD station, and Spaulding prepared a false report to justify the arrests;

A February 2009 incident during which Spaulding, Cari and other officers illegally searched a vehicle parked outside of a Latino-owned grocery store. Inside the store, Cari and Spaulding, under Miller’s supervision, then arrested a religious leader, who is also an advocate for Latinos, on false pretenses. At Miller’s direction, Cari, Spaulding, Zullo and others conducted an illegal search of the back room of the store in an effort to unlawfully seize the store’s video recording equipment. In the days following the arrest, Cari drafted various false versions of an arrest report to cover up the false arrest of the religious leader. In the months following the incident, Spaulding engaged in behavior intended to intimidate the religious leader and others;

A January 2010 incident during which Miller used excessive force against an individual in the vicinity of Thompson Avenue, and then reprimanded a fellow officer who witnessed the assault and reported it to a supervisory sergeant;

Intimidation and harassment of East Haven Police Commissioners who were attempting to investigate the arrest of the religious leader and other alleged misconduct involving Miller;

Intimidation of EHPD personnel, including threatening statements about an EHPD officer who was believed to be cooperating in an investigation of EHPD.

Each of the four defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy against rights, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Miller, Spaulding and Zullo are also charged with one count of use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Additionally, Spaulding is charged with two counts and Cari with one count of deprivation of rights for making arrests without probable cause. Each of these counts carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Finally, Spaulding is charged with two counts and Cari with one count of obstruction of a federal investigation for preparing false reports to justify the false arrests. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Civil Rights Squad of the FBI’s New York Field Office. New York FBI Special Operation teams, including its SWAT Team, assisted with today’s arrests. Deputy U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly and Assistant U.S. Attorney Krishna R. Patel are prosecuting the case with assistance from the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.