NEW HAVEN — The United States District Court entered summary judgment for ACLU Foundation of Connecticut client Mike Friend on two of three counts of his complaint against Stamford police officer Richard Gasparino. In a victory for police accountability and transparency, the court also denied Gasparino qualified immunity for all three of the counts against him, concluding that it was clear at the time of the incident that police may not arrest people for holding signs on a sidewalk.
In 2018, Mr. Friend was arrested by Gasparino for holding up a sign on a Stamford sidewalk reading, “COPS AHEAD.” Mr. Friend chose to hold up this sign on public property because he noticed Stamford police employees issuing traffic infractions to drivers for allegedly using their cellphones while driving. Mr. Friend saw Richard Gasparino hiding behind a utility pole on the side of Hope Street, watching northbound traffic and radioing other police whenever he allegedly observed a driver using their cell phone.
Mr. Friend found this method of policing to be non-transparent and underhanded, and walked several blocks away to hold up a handmade sign reading “COPS AHEAD.” Gasparino confronted Friend and took away his sign, telling him that he would be arrested if he returned. Mr. Friend walked further away and displayed a bigger sign with the same message, and Gasparino arrested him for it, claiming that Mr. Friend had interfered with a police officer. Although that charge is a misdemeanor with a maximum $2,500 fine, Gasparino set Mr. Friend’s bail at $25,000, and Mr. Friend had to spend the night in the Stamford police lockup.
Represented by ACLU Foundation of Connecticut lawyers Dan Barrett and Elana Bildner, and Farmington lawyer Joseph Sastre, Mr. Friendbrought suit, alleging that Mr. Gasparino had (1) violated Mr. Friend’s First Amendment right to free speech by confiscating his sign, (2) violated Mr. Friend’s right to free speech by arresting him for displaying it, and (3) violated Mr. Friend’s Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizure by commencing a criminal prosecution against him without probable cause.
In 2020, the district court granted Gasparino summary judgment, but in 2023, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned that decision and held that Gasparino had violated Mr. Friend’s free speech rights. The Court of Appeals sent the case back to the trial court to consider whether Mr. Friend should win the case outright.
On Wednesday, the trial court concluded that Mr. Friend won two of his claims outright, and that the parties will try the third claim at a later date. Significantly, the trial court denied Gasparino’s claim that—even though he violated Mr. Friend’s rights—he is immune from justice because he could not have known at the time that he was breaking the law when he arrested Mr. Friend. To the contrary, the United States District Court concluded that the law of free speech was settled far before Gasparino approached Mr. Friend that day, and that any public employee would have known better.
“This case vindicates Nutmeggers’ ability to observe, protest, and publicize the activities of police, which is key to democracy,” said ACLU Foundation of Connecticut legal director Dan Barrett. “Mr. Friend broke no laws. He stood on public property holding a two-word cardboard sign. Mr. Friend knew his rights and exercised them, and the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut is very happy that he is finally getting justice.”
“The decision is great news,” said plaintiff Mike Friend. “It has been a long time coming, and I look forward to pressing on. Everyone should know your rights. You can peacefully protest what the police are up to — they are civil servants and are not above the law.”
“This is a great win for accountability,” said Farmington lawyer Joseph Sastre, who represents Mr. Friend along with Barrett and Bildner. “Journalists and anyone interested in open government should cheer this ruling that it’s been obvious for decades that the constitution protects publicizing police activity.”
“The qualified immunity denial makes clear that the law has been established for decades: police cannot arrest people for peaceful speech,” said ACLU Foundation of Connecticut senior staff attorney Elana Bildner. “Mr. Gasparino was required to respect Mr. Friend’s speech rights. He did not, and we are pleased the court has found that he can be held accountable.”
The ACLU Foundation of Connecticut encourages people to know the broad scope of protections the Constitution provides. ACLU of CT’s freely available Know Your Rights campaign explains what to do if detained or arrested by police. Awareness of and information about police activity should be made public in a way that makes sense. To that end, ACLU of CT proudly presents our Project Flashlight portal, an ongoing project to collect and visualize data about the more than 100 police departments in the state of Connecticut.
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