BRIDGEPORT,
Conn. (AP) _ Two police officers accused of violating a man’s civil rights by
using unreasonable force, kicking and stomping him in an encounter captured on
a videotape, plead guilty on Tuesday.
Elson
Morales and Joseph Lawlor pleaded guilty in Bridgeport to deprivation of rights
under color of law.
The
video showed police officers kicking and stomping Orlando Lopez-Soto after he
was shot with a stun gun and fell to the ground in Beardsley Park in May 2011
following a car chase. It’s unclear who recorded the video, which was posted
online.
Prosecutors
said Morales used his stun gun a second time after the man was effectively
incapacitated and Lawlor kicked him several times.
“The
use of unreasonable force during an arrest is not only a clear violation of an
individual’s civil rights but also gravely undermines the community’s trust in
law enforcement,” U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said.
The
investigation is ongoing, she said.
Morales,
42, and Lawlor, 41, agreed to resign from the Bridgeport Police Department.
They each face up to a year in prison when they are sentenced Sept. 2.
Morales’
attorney, Michael Fitzpatrick, said he has “accepted responsibility for his
role in the matter.”
“We
are prepared to proceed to sentencing with the hope and expectation the court
will impose a sentence that’s fair and just to all parties involved,”
Fitzpatrick said.
A
message was left for Lawlor’s attorney.
The
city recently settled the case by agreeing to pay $198,000 to Lopez-Soto.
Lopez-Soto
said in his lawsuit that he was motionless on the ground and not resisting when
the officers kicked and stomped him. He said he suffered pain, a bad cut to his
lip that left a scar, body and face contusions and a fracture to his hand.
All
three officers seen in the video, which surfaced in January 2013, were placed
on paid administrative duty pending a police internal affairs investigation.
NAACP leaders at the time called on police officials to arrest and fire the
officers.
Lawlor
wrote in a police report that Lopez-Soto struggled with officers after falling
to the ground when Morales zapped him with a stun gun. Lawlor said Lopez-Soto
was wearing a gun holster on his belt, and officers later found a loaded
handgun and drugs in Lopez-Soto’s van.
Lopez-Soto
pleaded guilty to drug and gun charges in July 2012 and was sentenced to five
years in prison.
The
third officer, Clive Higgins, has not been charged. His attorney declined to
comment.
Lopez-Soto
agreed with the disposition of the case, said his attorney, Robert Berke