Police Officers Win Civil Rights Case

The attorney for two East Haven police officers called their exoneration by a federal court jury good news for town taxpayers.

It took the jury just 70 minutes to decide in favor of Sgt. John Miller and Officer Christopher Perez in the civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court, according to Hugh Keefe, who represented the officers and the town.

The suit was brought by Robert A. Cordova of East Haven, who accused the police of false arrest when they charged him with stealing $120 from the cash register of a local liquor store in 2006.

A video surveillance camera recorded the theft, but the state prosecutor threw out the charges against Cordova because the videotape evidence could not prove he had committed the crime.

Keefe said Cordova was only looking to get money from the town. He said the lawsuit asked for an unspecified amount, "as much as he could get."

In his lawsuit, Cordova said he suffered a financial loss when he had to hire a lawyer to defend him on the theft charges, and asked for an award to recoup those costs.

Cordova could not be reached and his attorney, Joseph Merly, did not return a telephone call.

Keefe said the federal court jury concluded either that Cordova actually was the person on the videotape, or that Miller and Perez didn’t act maliciously when they arrested him for the theft.

He said Miller and Perez were "delighted" to be exonerated, because accusations of constitutional and civil rights violations are a stain on an officer’s reputation.

"It’s a very good outcome for the taxpayers of East Haven," Keefe said.