Police Officer Sues Motorist

By Andrew Gorosko

In a lawsuit filed in Danbury Superior Court, a Newtown police patrol officer is seeking money damages from a motorist who struck and injured him with a Volkswagen at a road construction site on Mt Pleasant Road in Hawleyville, where the officer was directing traffic in December 1999.

In the suit, police Patrol Officer Raymond Thompson is seeking at least $15,000 in monetary damages from motorist Frank J. Sweeney, 46, of Sandy Hook, charging that Sweeney acted negligently and carelessly.

According to the lawsuit, Thompson was directing traffic at a road construction site on Mt Pleasant Road near Taunton Lane at about 10:26 am December 3, 1999. Thompson was one of five police officers who were directing traffic there for a waterline installation project.

According to the legal papers, Sweeney accelerated the 1997 Volkswagen he was driving onto the wrong side of a double yellow line and into a construction area, and then headed toward the construction workers before he swerved back into the proper lane where he was apprehended and stopped by Patrol Officer Louis Ferreira. When asked to provide his driver’s license and vehicle registration, Sweeney then sped off westbound on Mt Pleasant Road and struck Thompson, according to the legal papers. An exterior rear-view mirror on the Volkswagen reportedly collided with Thompson’s arm.

The lawsuit alleges that Sweeney struck Thompson due to Sweeney’s negligence and carelessness.

Thompson has suffered a partial disability and a limitation in the use of his body, the lawsuit contends. The collision caused Thompson to suffer carpal tunnel syndrome, left hand and forearm injuries, left shoulder strain, arm and shoulder injuries, and arthritic conditions, the suit contends.

Thompson seeks to recover past medical costs and anticipated future medical expenses from Sweeney in connection with the accident.

The lawsuit charges that Sweeney was intoxicated when he struck Thompson and that he was later arrested by police on charges of driving while intoxicated, with that intoxication having been a substantial factor in causing Thompson’s injuries.

Through the lawsuit, Thompson seeks monetary damages, attorney’s fees, the costs of the legal action, and any additional relief that the court deems fit.