City officials have settled a federal lawsuit brought against them by Mustafa Salahuddin, a former member of the Ansonia Police Department.
According to an agreement released to the Valley Indy Friday, the city will pay Salahuddin $90,000.
The lawsuit claimed Salahuddin was maliciously prosecuted in connection to the theft of a garden hose in 2008.
The settlement is likely a final chapter in a dispute that has been ongoing for more than seven years in Ansonia.
Background
Salahuddin was charged in 2008 with sixth-degree larceny after his supervisors accused him of stealing a newly-purchased garden hose from the police department.
State police investigated the case.
Salahuddin, who is Muslim, has repeatedly said that he was targeted by department leaders because of his race and his religion. Ansonia police denied the accusation.
The low-level charge made it all the way to trial, where a jury found him not guilty.
It only took the jurors about 30 minutes to reach their conclusion.
Click here to read the Valley Indy’s comprehensive coverage of that trial.
In May 2010, Ansonia Aldermen voted to pay for Salahuddin’s legal bills in connection to the case.
Salahuddin sued the city in 2013, about three years after being cleared of the criminal charge.
In his lawsuit, Salahuddin alleged several officials, including the chief of police, conspired to have him arrested in an attempt to force him out of the department.
The Settlement
The two sides have been trading legal filings in federal court for the past two years.
But, on Feb. 10, the Aldermen voted unanimously to settle the case. A federal judge approved the settlement Wedesday (March 25).
In addition to the $90,000 payment (to be made within 30 days), the agreement protects the city from any further legal action from the former police officer.
The case was handled on the city’s behalf by Joseph McQuade, a Hartford lawyer who works for the city’s insurance carrier. The Valley Indy left a message at his office Friday.
The Valley Indy also left messages for Salahuddin and his lawyer, John Williams of New Haven.
The city’s corporation counsel, John Marini, said that while the city admitted no wrongdoing, settling the case avoided the cost and uncertainty of a jury trial.
“It’s just a way of protecting taxpayers from unnecessary cost and from risk,” Marini said. “It says nothing about the merits of the case to settle other that both parties felt it was in their best interests to leave it at this.”
Ansonia Police Chief Kevin Hale wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Salahuddin retired from the Police Department in 2010.
