The city of Burlington has paid out $215,000 to settle an excessive force lawsuit filed by a man who alleged police brutality, according to the man’s attorney.
Mabior Jok, 40, filed the lawsuit in federal court in 2019. He accused Burlington police officer Joe Corrow of causing physical and mental damage and violating his rights after Corrow tackled and knocked Jok unconscious outside of a Main Street bar.
Jok, a former child soldier from South Sudan, has lived in the Burlington area for a decade, according to his attorney, Robb Spensley. He has struggled with homelessness, and is facing charges for allegedly threatening a man with a knife in South Burlington in April.
“For him, this is life-changing money,” Spensely said. “Hopefully it means more security for his transportation and his housing.”
The settlement was first reported by Seven Days.
Joe Magee, the deputy chief of staff for Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, said in a statement that the city was glad to have reached a resolution on the matter, and added that the city hopes “that the resolution of the case provides some measure of relief for Mr. Jok.”
“We also recognize the city must approach every instance where force is used as an opportunity to review what happened and ensure our police department training, practices, and policies emphasize de-escalation, minimal reliance on using force, and effective communication,” Magee said.
Spensely said the city initially appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals, but the court process was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
A two-week trial was set to begin on Aug. 26, but both parties moved to settle the case the week prior, Spensely said. Subpoenas had been issued for former Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo and other law enforcement officials in the city, he added.
“We finally got what I considered a reasonable offer,” Spensely said. “Clearly, they didn’t want to have a trial.”
Jok’s case was one of a pair of lawsuits filed against the city in 2019 that alleged police brutality. The other suit, filed by Jérémie, Charlie and Albin Meli, was settled by the city last year for $750,000.
Body camera footage from the evening of Sept. 8, 2018 shows Corrow walking up to Jok outside of Manhattan’s on Main Street, after the officer said he saw Jok punch another man.
Corrow tackled Jok to the ground, knocking him unconscious. In the footage, blood could be seen pooled by Jok’s head. A bystander is heard asking, “Is he breathing?” with Corrow responding “Yeah, he’s fine” as Jok lay motionless on the ground.
Jok then regained consciousness and was taken to the hospital. In the body camera footage, Jok can be heard telling Corrow, “You slammed me.” Corrow responded that he brought him to the ground “because of what you were doing.” He added, “Don’t raise your hands at me. Really simple.”
At the time, del Pozo, the former police chief, said Corrow was using force to break up a fight and was not punished for his behavior. Corrow is still employed by the city police department.
After the incident, Jok was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, but the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office later dropped those charges.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Burlington pays out $215K to settle 2019 excessive force lawsuit.