26-year-old man shot with rubber bullets in holding cell by cops
VIDEO - Jamek Hart, a 26-year-old black man, is arrested outside a Vermont bar and taken to a holding cell where police officers proceed to shoot Hart with rubber bullets to calm him...
New images from a surveillance camera that caught a Rutland police officer using force on a suspect reveal the trouble may have started before the man was jailed.
In portions of the video, Jamek Hart, 26, can be heard yelling at officers as they arrest him outside Jilly’s Bar in downtown Rutland the morning of New Year’s Day.
As officers drove him to the police station, the video shows that Hart called the officers racists and liars and said he didn’t do anything wrong. Repeatedly the officers told him to “chill out.”
The 40-minute video later shows former Rutland police Officer Michael Nesshoever firing a pepperball gun repeatedly at Hart, who was in a holding cell.
The video also shows Hart lying on the floor with his pants down and what appears to be a bag over his head as officers look on.
Nesshoever resigned on Feb. 26 after an internal investigation.
Now, he and the city of Rutland will likely face a civil lawsuit.
Attorney Mark Furlan, who’s representing Hart, said it could be a few weeks before he officially files the paperwork in Rutland Superior Court.
“It’s just a civil allegation that he knowingly and intentionally violated Mr. Hart’s civil rights. It’s not a criminal charge, it’s a civil lawsuit,” said Furlan.
Both Mayor Chris Louras and the city attorney refused to comment on the videotape, saying it’s a personnel matter and part of a criminal investigation.
But Allen Gilbert, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Vermont chapter, said he was amazed at the video. The ACLU is not involved in the case, he said.
“I did not understand why the person shacked inside the cell was treated as he was,” Gilbert told NewsChannel 5, emphasizing his office is not involved in any litigation related to the case. “I didn’t see anything in the video that would suggest the treatment that person was subjected to was in any way humane. It looked to be unnecessary and totally beyond whatever the needs of the situation were.”
The incident is the latest black eye for a department that has been plagued by scandal in recent weeks.
Recently another officer, David Schauwecker, was charged by state police after a lengthy investigation into child pornography allegations.
