FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2024
Contact: Emily Hagan-Howe, Communications Director, ACLU of Vermont, [email protected], 802-223-6304 x121
BURLINGTON, Vt. – A Vermont Superior Court judge yesterday denied the City of Burlington’s motion to dismiss a police use-of-force and discrimination case, clearing the way for the ACLU of Vermont’s lawsuit to move forward on all claims. The case stems from a 2021 incident in which Burlington police and paramedics needlessly escalated an interaction with Cathy Austrian’s child (“J.A.”), used excessive force and injected him with ketamine, and forcibly removed him from his bedroom and home. J.A., a Black teenager with a documented history of complex trauma and behavioral and intellectual disabilities, was fourteen years old at the time of the incident.
ACLU of Vermont Staff Attorney Hillary Rich: “No one should have to endure the discrimination and violence that J.A. experienced at the hands of Burlington police and paramedics—especially not a 14-year-old child. We are pleased to see the Court agrees that all of our claims must move forward, and we look forward to vindicating Cathy and her child’s rights in court.”
In denying the City of Burlington’s motion to dismiss Austrian v. City of Burlington, Judge Helen Toor sided with the ACLU in several key arguments. Specifically, the Court concluded that:
There are sufficient alleged facts to support a claim of unreasonable search and seizure under Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution due to excessive force, because “...the crime was not serious, [J.A.] did not pose an immediate threat, and he did not try to ‘evade arrest by flight’.”
The Vermont Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act applies to the City’s encounter with J.A.—rejecting the City’s argument that those anti-discrimination laws don’t apply to police or fire departments—and there are sufficient facts to allege disability discrimination.
Allegations that the City relied on a diagnosis of “excited delirium” and exhibited a racialized fear response towards J.A. were “more than sufficient to support a claim of racial discrimination on a motion to dismiss.”
Given the severity of the City’s actions as described in the Complaint—like injecting a child with ketamine for restraint, in violation of Vermont Statewide Emergency Medical Services Protocols—there is “no basis to dismiss any of the claims on qualified immunity grounds at this stage.”
ACLU of Vermont Senior Staff Attorney Harrison Stark: “Too often, victims of police violence are denied their day in court because of an unjust legal doctrine called ‘qualified immunity.’ We are thrilled that by rejecting the City’s arguments and allowing all five counts to proceed, the Court has agreed that this ‘get-out-of-court-free’ card is no excuse to close the courthouse doors on J.A. and his mother.”
The Plaintiff is represented by the ACLU Foundation of Vermont and Latham & Watkins LLP, with strategic support from the MacArthur Justice Center.
The court’s order denying Defendants’ motion to dismiss is here.
The case complaint, filed on January 30, 2024, is available here.
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