ALSO: Selkirk man sues town for $75 M, names several BPD officers
A Bethlehem Police officer on disability has filed a lawsuit against the town and against Police Chief Louis Corsi, in a move that could be part of an effort to get back on active duty.
Christopher Hughes filed the lawsuit through his attorney on Dec. 9. It seeks compensation for damages, punitive damages against Corsi, as well as a clean record for Hughes that does not mention disciplinary charges that have been brought against him. The suit also asks that the department fairly consider [Hughes] for positions for which he qualifies without retaliation, indicating Hughes may be trying to rejoin the force.
Hughes referred questions to his attorney, who had not returned calls as of press time.
Hughes was brought up on two sets of disciplinary charges during his time on the force. They were later dismissed through arbitration, and he also claims his brother (a sergeant on the police force) told Hughes he would be passed over for K-9 handler position because of his involvement in the police union’s collective bargaining negotiations with the town.
The suit accuses the department, and Corsi specifically, of retaliating against Hughes for his involvement in the police union and for going to town administration and the press with allegations Corsi had uttered a racial slur on a taped phone conversation from his office.
That tape was later found, and Corsi was issued a 10-day suspension without pay.
Town Attorney James Potter said the case has been passed on to the town’s insurance carrier, and added the department took disciplinary actions on substantiated issues.
`Based on everything we have seen, the police department took action for proper reasons,` he said.
Hughes has been on medical leave from the department, and last year was placed on job-related disability leave, which would possibly allow him to collect a full salary until retirement age.
Man sues town for $75 million
The town is also the target in another lawsuit filed by a Selkirk resident. John A. Robinson filed the suit in May, alleging two Bethlehem police officers falsely arrested and beat him. It also claims the officers sodomized Robinson with a nightstick.
John Bailey, an attorney at the firm representing the town in the case, said the allegations set forth in the lawsuit are unfounded.
`Needless to say, we emphatically ` and I do mean emphatically ` deny these accusations,` he said. `The chief and his command staff are first-rate people. If anything remotely like this ever happened, the officers involved would be disciplined in a minute over this.`
A police department representative said BPD officers are issued collapsing batons, and referred all other questions to attorneys.
The suit says the incident occurred in May of 2008, when officers Chad Rice and Michael Whiteley arrested Robinson on charges he approached two teenage girls walking on the side of the road and offered them money to let him sniff their feet. Robinson signed a statement admitting to the incident, but he now says it was coerced through violence.
In an interview with The Spotlight, Robinson denied the foot-sniffing incident. He said the police fabricated the charges to discredit and embarrass him, and to intimidate him to drop a wrongful termination lawsuit he had against a heavy equipment repair shop in town. That lawsuit was eventually settled for $10,000. The business, Robert H. Finke and Sons, of Selkirk, has done business with the town before.
The case against Robinson, which includes charges of endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, has been transferred to the Town of Colonie, where Robinson is scheduled to appear later this month.
Potter said the police department has conducted an investigation into the suit’s claims, but declined to go into specifics.
`If the claims in the complaint were true, they would be very disturbing. However, anybody can make allegations,` Potter said. `Detectives Rice and Whitely have excellent records with the department, and it’s inconceivable they would do something like this. The allegations in the complaint seem preposterous.`
Robinson’s arrest records include statements from the girls who made the complaints. Robinson was also arrested by Troy police in 2002 for allegedly menacing people from his car, charges he said were filed due to mistaken identity.
Robinson was arrested on several occasions in the weeks following his arrest by Bethlehem police for allegedly missing court dates, violating court orders and for a similar incident in the Town of Coeymans.
Robinson alleges that on one occasion, Christopher Hughes stuck his sock-covered feet in Robinson’s face while he was awaiting arraignment at the Bethlehem police station.
Hughes declined to speak on those accusations, and is being represented by the same lawyer as the rest of the defendants.
Robinson is representing himself. He claims the incident caused damage to his spine and ultimately paralyzed him. He’s seeking more than $75 million in damages.
In a lengthy notarized statement about the incident, Robinson said he had been paralyzed from the waist down in a 1995 automobile accident and underwent physical therapy. He claims he was fired from his job at Adirondack Trailways after the May 2008 arrest.
The lawsuit is still in early stages and before a federal district court. Robinson is seeking a jury trial.
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