Monroe County pays $30,000 to settle suit

Monroe County has paid $30,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a man claiming he was unjustly assaulted by sheriff’s deputies.

The Daily Record obtained a copy of the settlement agreement between the county and plaintiff Po K. Lin in response to a request made under New York state’s Freedom of Information Law.

The settlement resolves all claims related to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in August 2010.

Lin claimed he was assaulted by deputies at a fast food restaurant in Henrietta. As U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford wrote in a December 2014 decision on a motion in the case: “On Dec. 22, 2009, plaintiff set out on an errand for his girlfriend to purchase a Burger King chicken sandwich, but his trip did not end well.”

Originally, the defendants included then-Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn, Sgt. Robert Murphy, Michael Thompson, and Deputy Joedy Luther. About three years ago, Wolford granted summary judgment in favor of all the defendants, except for Luther.

The settlement was signed by Lin on Nov. 2, approved in an11-0 vote by the Monroe County Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee on Dec. 7, and the full Legislature OK’d it on Dec. 12 in a 29-0 vote.

According to the settlement, the county denied any wrongdoing and information about its contents are “confidential and not to be disclosed” to anyone.

“The releaser and release have agreed to settle in order to avoid the inconvenience, distractions, and inherent uncertainties associated with any legal proceeding, and the additional legal fees and expenses of continuing this dispute,” according to the agreement.

“This agreement represents a compromise of a doubtful and disputed claim and liability, wrongdoing, malfeasance, or negligence on the part of the release is expressly denied,” according to the settlement.

Lin’s attorney, Jeffrey Wicks, and county officials declined to comment.

According to court documents, Lin drove his girlfriend’s car to a Burger King restaurant where an employee working the drive-through window noticed that the steering wheel column cover had been removed and some wires were exposed.

The employee suspected the car was stolen and he called 911. The 911 operator asked the employee to try to keep the car there until deputies arrived. The Burger King worker told Lin his food wasn’t ready and he should pull out of the way and wait.

Luther and a senior deputy responded to the call. They asked Lin to get out of the car four times and Lin asked them why, according to the complaint.

While still in the car, Lin was punched in the face and pulled from the vehicle, according to the complaint.

Lin claims he was slammed to the ground and accused of trying to hit the deputies. He claims a deputy pushed their knee on his face “with such force it felt as though his skull was being crushed.”

Lin also accused an officer of twisting his wrists and hitting his thigh with a knee several times.

Later, Lin went to Strong Memorial Hospital and called 911 to ask for an officer to meet him there to take a complaint. The officer who responded to the request told Lin the incident was already the subject of an internal investigation and therefore refused to take Lin’s complaint, according to court papers.

Lin was charged with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. In April 2010, a Henrietta town justice adjourned the charges in contemplation of dismissal with the condition that Lin complete four hours of community service and avoid arrest for six months.

The Sheriff’s Office’s internal investigation concluded that deputies did not violate any policies.

Lin’s original attorney, Christina A. Agola, was suspended from practicing law in November 2013, disbarred in March 2015, and replaced by Wicks.