Franklin, MA- Four former Dean college students have settled a lawsuit against two Franklin police officers.

Four former Dean College students have settled a lawsuit against two Franklin Police officers and the town over the allegation that police used excessive force in a 2009 traffic stop.

The four had sought $1 million in damages and a jury trial, claiming they suffered emotional distress. Their lawyer, Wilson D. Rogers III of Braintree, said the terms of the settlement prevented him from disclosing specifics about the agreement.

"I think my clients are satisfied with the outcome of the settlement that was reached," Rogers said yesterday. "They were prepared to proceed to trial, but given what they went through and what their options were, they felt a settlement was the best way to go."

The plaintiffs claimed their constitutional rights were violated when Officer Douglas Nix drew his gun and aimed it at them after pulling over their SUV on Feb. 28, 2009, for a lights violation. Nix got out of his police car and yelled, "Don't (expletive) move" as he approached the Jeep Cherokee, according to the suit.

Then, Nix held driver Ryan Adkin at gunpoint while pulling him out of the Jeep by the throat. Nix threw Adkin onto the middle of Rte. 140 and punched him in the face before arresting him, according to a civil complaint filed last year in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Adkin was charged with failing to stop for police, a lights violation and resisting arrest. Those charges were dropped during a sidebar conversation between Franklin Police prosecutor Edward Clifford and a judge before Adkin's arraignment in Wrentham District Court.

Clifford told the judge he needed to dismiss the complaint because "the police officer who made the arrest made a traffic stop into a horrible situation," according to the official court recording.


Link:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/police_and_fire/x730838948/Former-Dean-College-students-settle-suit-against-officers