Michael O’Brien v. David Williams, Diep Nguyen, Sean Flynn, Adam Mammone, and the City of Boston

On March 16, 2009, Boston police officers attacked O’Brien because they were angry that he was filming them with his cell phone. Officer Diep Nguyen grabbed O’Brien’s phone while officer David Williams threw O’Brien to the ground. Williams put his arms around O’Brien’s neck and applied pressure, choking O’Brien. Officers struck O’Brien in the head, causing bleeding and a contusion in his brain. Mr. O’Brien has not been able to return to work as a correctional officer. The City of Boston is sued for its policies or customs of tolerating use of unreasonable and excessive force, failing to address false police reports, and permitting a code of silence to persist in the police department.