Brookfield Township cut a $3,000 check in August to pay the deductible on a $32,500 lawsuit settlement.
The payment ends the federal suit filed by Jennifer L. Miller of Brookfield against the township, Brookfield Police Department and Sgt. Cody Dean. Miller alleged that the parties violated her civil rights, she was a victim of civil assault and battery, and Brookfield police officers had not been properly trained.
Miller had been arrested for drunken driving on Nov. 8, 2023. According to Dean’s report, he shoved Miller toward a cell door in the police station and she tripped over her feet and fell, hitting her head on the ground. Dean said he had “no option” but to shove her toward the cell because she was not cooperating with him and he had a set of handcuffs and two sets of keys in one hand and he did not want to drop them and give her an opportunity to grab them.
Dean summoned Brookfield Fire-EMS to examine Miller and reported the incident to his superiors.
Miller refused treatment at the scene, Dean said, In her complaint, Miller said she was knocked unconscious and received medical treatment later.
Dan Faustino, who was Brookfield police chief at the time, investigated the incident and determined Dean had broken no state law or department policies.
“The incident was a terrible accident and internal changes already have been implemented with regards to prisoner handling to prevent any further type of injuries of this kind in the future,” said current Chief Aaron Kasiewicz, who issued a statement after a video of the incident was circulated on social media.
In March, the attorneys for each side reported to the federal judge presiding over the case that the suit has been settled, and Miller signed the settlement agreement in April.
Brookfield Trustee Dan Suttles said the trustees did not have to officially act on the settlement because the township was represented by attorneys hired by the Ohio Township Association Risk Management Authority, which paid the lion’s share of the settlement.
While the settlement contract stipulates that “This agreement is not to be construed as an admission of liability or wrongdoing on the part of Brookfield Township,” Suttles said he knows people will in fact construe it that way.
“It costs them (OTARMA) less money to settle, but it’s always bothered me and it doesn’t necessarily mean this but it sounds like we agreed that there was something wrong and were OK with it,” Suttles said in April. “I don’t think that’s the case. It bothers me because that’s the perception that’s there.”
Suttles said he reviewed the incident and doesn’t believe Dean did anything wrong. Suttles said he would rather have taken the case to trial instead of settling, but the township would have been on the hook for the cost of trial.
