HARTFORD, Vt. (AP) - An unarmed Wilder man who was beaten and pepper-sprayed by Hartford police is suing the officers and the town, saying he was targeted because he is African-American.
The Valley News of West Lebanon, N.H., reports that Wayne Burwell filed a federal civil rights claim on Thursday in connection with his 2010 encounter with town officers.
Burwell says he was sitting naked on his toilet in a coma-like state due to a medical condition when police, who had been called by a housekeeper, burst in, beating him with batons, pepper-spraying him, handcuffing and dragging him outside, still without his clothes.
Town officials have said they do not believe police behaved improperly, and Attorney General William Sorrell's office cleared them of criminal wrongdoing.
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