Don’t touch that garden hose.
Attorney Rob Serafinowicz might want to use it in a civil suit on behalf of his client, Ansonia Police Officer Mustafa Salahuddin.
In March, Salahuddin was found not guilty of stealing that hose from the police department back in May 2008. (Read our stories from the trial here.)
Serafinowicz said he and Salahuddin are still deciding whether to file a civil action against the city and other unnamed individuals for the sixth-degree larceny arrest.
In case they decide to do so, Serafinowicz filed — and was granted — a motion in Superior Court in Milford that requires the hose be preserved as is.
That means in the original packaging, as it was presented at trial.
Story continues after document.
“It means we’re preserving all our rights if we do decide to move forward with a civil action,” Serafinowicz said. “No absolute decision has been made.”
Serafinowicz said the fact that the hose is in its original packaging helps their case because some of the testimony against Salahuddin indicated he may have used the hose.
“There was no basis to state that the hose was stolen and returned because the hose was not used and a jury in a civil action can see that,” Serafinowicz said.
Serafinowicz wouldn’t say who would be named as defendants in a civil suit.
Salahuddin remains on medical leave with post traumatic stress disorder, Serafinowicz said Monday.
The New Haven Register reported Tuesday that Salahuddin has posted a civil rights complaint against Ansonia. In the complaint, Salahuddin says he was discriminated against by Chief Kevin Hale and members of the Ansonia Police Commission.
Read a copy of the complaint here.
Salahuddin also filed a complaint against the department with the Ansonia Police Department with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities before his trial on a larceny charge. However, the commission dismissed that complaint.
