Law Offices of Howard Friedman P.C.

For nearly a decade, the Boston Police Department sent female detainees to the Suffolk County Jail where they were strip searched as part of the admissions procedure. Male detainees were held in police station lockups, where they were not routinely strip searched. We won a judgment that the policy was unconstitutional. Suffolk County agreed to settle, then claimed it could not pay. We obtained a court order holding the county in contempt of court, and Suffolk County paid its share of the settlement plus interest and fines.

On 7/21/03, Kelly Jo Griffen, 24 year old mother of two, was to be held at MCI Framingham for one night before going to court in the morning. Ms. Griffen was experiencing the effects of heroin withdrawal. Medical staff knew that Ms. Griffen was not keeping fluids in her system, but failed to take steps to rehydrate her. Two hours before she became comatose, Ms. Griffen’s vital signs showed that she was in grave danger. Defendant Grodski was unable to obtain a blood pressure reading or a pulse.

Mr. Cosme was a prisoner worker in the Maintenance Department at MCI-Norfolk. He suffered fractures of both wrists and his right elbow when he fell from a roof while laying down tar paper. These injuries are permanent and severe. DOC employees negligently failed to provide plaintiff with any training or proper supervision. No safety equipment was provided to protect the plaintiff from the dangers of working on a rooftop. Settlement was reached after DOC finally agreed to allow Mr. Cosme to see an outside surgeon. The maximum recovery under the state statute is $100,000.

Lawrence officers beat Mr. Figueroa without justification. Officers booked Mr. Figueroa, then ordered that he strip naked and placed him naked in a small lockup cell with a clothed male prisoner. They wanted to teach Mr. Figueroa a lesson: Don’t disrespect police officers. The City of Lawrence had a policy or custom of placing arrestees naked in a cell with another prisoner when a police officer claimed the arrestee was having suicidal thoughts. This unreasonable and easily abused policy permitted officers to degrade and intimidate Mr. Figueroa by falsely claiming he was suicidal.

Three plaintiffs brought consolidated cases against a Lowell detective and the City of Lowell. In 2012, informants planted drugs in the plaintiffs’ cars. Plaintiffs were falsely charged with trafficking in cocaine; charges pended for over 1 year, over 6 months, and over 5 months (w/ 3.5 months in custody). They faced mandatory minimums of 3, 2, and 8 years. All charges were dismissed due to revelation of the informants’ misconduct. The detective knew his informants were not trustworthy.

On 10/6/12, two Bellingham officers entered Ms. Graham’s home without a warrant. When Ms. Graham began to openly video record the encounter and protest the officers’ actions, Defendants arrested her, using unreasonable force. She was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and three misdemeanors. The criminal charges were dismissed. Ms. Graham’s cell phone video shows the officers arresting Ms. Graham and using unreasonable force. The case received local publicity. The case settled after an early mediation.

On March 16, 2006, Somerville officer Freitas, who was off-duty and had been drinking, confronted Gerard Contaldi (15) and his friends about kicking a recycling bin near Freitas’s sports car. Freitas called Gerard an idiot and slapped him. One of Gerard’s friends pushed Freitas, then the boys ran away. Officers stopped Gerard, threw him to the ground, and cuffed him. An officer pressed Gerard’s face in the gravel. Freitas hit Gerard in the eye with a flashlight.

Nantucket Police Officer John Hubbard used unreasonable force on Eric Kaminskas, fracturing his skull. On September 4, 2011, Defendant Hubbard was investigating an altercation at a nightclub on Nantucket Island. He approached Mr. Kaminskas outside the nightclub to question him about his involvement. Defendant Hubbard tackled Mr. Kaminskas with so much force that Mr. Kaminskas’s right frontal skull struck the pavement and broke into pieces. Mr. Kaminskas was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (MGH). After the swelling in Mr.

David Woodman was a 22-year-old man who was walking home from the Fenway Park area in June, 2008 after the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship. As David passed a group of police officers, he was arrested for carrying an open container of beer. Witnesses reported that police officers slammed David to the ground. David was held by the police until EMTs arrived. When the EMTs arrived, David was not breathing, he had no pulse, and his body was blue and cold. He suffered a cardiac arrhythmia and brain damage. David died at the hospital 11 days later.

On May 4, 2012, Mr. Holding was loud while visiting a friend who lived next door to Defendant Lauria. When Mr. Holding returned to his friend’s house the next afternoon, Defendant Lauria was waiting for him. Defendant Lauria was on duty in his marked Revere police car wearing his police uniform. Defendant Lauria went up to Mr. Holding and, without provocation, punched, kicked, and cursed at Mr. Holding. Defendant Lauria fractured the bone at base of Mr. Holding’s right thumb and bruised Mr. Holding’s right shoulder, upper back, and left eye. Mr.