Mother of mentally ill man who died in Stamford police custody sues, says officers denied him medical help, joked as he lay limp

The mother of a Black man who died in police custody on his 23rd birthday in 2019 has joined with advocates for people with psychiatric disabilities to sue the Stamford Police Department in federal court, saying her son died after officers chased him, handcuffed him and dragged him down a muddy hill.

The suit further claims officers failed to get him medical help when he became unconscious, even joking about how to rouse him as he lay limp at the police station.

Valerie Jaddo and the Connecticut Legal Rights Project want police to improve their training on how to handle people with psychiatric disabilities. Her son, Steven Barrier, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

In addition to money for damages, the suit asks that funding be provided for improvements to the police department’s response to psychiatric emergencies. Their demands include the establishment of an organization to support people in crisis, a series of community meetings and more training for officers.

The lawsuit, which names the Stamford Police Department, two officers, a sergeant, a lieutenant and the city, was filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday.

A staff member in the office of Stamford police Chief Timothy Shaw said the chief does not have a comment on the lawsuit.

Stamford/Norwalk State’s Attorney Richard J. Colangelo — now the chief state’s attorney — determined last year that police had not used deadly force during the incident, noting that Barrier died of natural causes, atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.

Jaddo’s lawyers said Barrier didn’t know he was suffering from narrowing of the arteries.

But his family and police did know that Barrier suffered from psychiatric problems, and officers should have summoned help from mental health professionals, said one of Jaddo’s lawyers, Alan L. Fuchsberg of Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm LLP in New York.

“One thing they acknowledge is that their police force is not up to date on mental health crisis training,” Fuchsberg said in a phone interview Tuesday. “We’re asking for just relief that the Stamford police department institute protocols that include appropriate mental health crisis response, with a crisis intervention team as a primary responder.”

Fuchsberg also suggested that white people with psychiatric problems have been treated more appropriately by Stamford police and included two examples in the lawsuit.

Jaddo, Barrier’s mother, said at a news conference Tuesday, “If this 23-year-old’s death was due to natural causes, why didn’t he die at home? This mistreatment of mentally-ill patients by police has to stop. I wanted a new law in the name of my son.”

According to the lawsuit, late on the night of Oct. 22, 2019, Barrier pointed a broom at his mother when she tried to get him to take his medication. His sister ended up calling police, who were familiar with the family and Barrier’s psychiatric problems, and dispatchers recommended she call mental health organizations for help.

The mental health centers police recommended were closed, the suit said, and they called police again. When officers arrived at 11:45 p.m., Barrier was gone.

Jaddo told officers that Barrier had briefly wrestled with his sister during the argument, but that she was not injured. She also told them her son’s schizophrenia symptoms had worsened recently, the lawsuit said. Police told Jaddo and Barrier’s sister to let them know when he returns and they did; police arrived a second time about 1:30 a.m.Oct. 23.

The lawsuit said officers “escalated the situation” by using harsh language and failing to give Barrier space. When he ran, they chased him up a slippery hill in the rain, where he collapsed and became semi-conscious. Police handcuffed him and demanded he get up.

“Mr. Barrier could not get up because he was having difficulty breathing, his body was limp, and the Officers stated they knew he had passed out,” the suit said.

In a chilling body camera video released by Fuchsberg and the other lawyer for the plaintiffs, Kelly A. Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Law, LLC of Southbury, one officer can be heard saying they will drag him down the hill.

That’s what they did, according to the lawsuit. It said they “violently dragged Mr. Barrier down the hill” even though they “knew that Mr. Barrier could die,” once stopping to make sure he was breathing.

“Still, they continued to allow his face to drag through the wet grass,” the suit said. A sergeant at one point told them not to put Barrier’s face in the puddles.

Barrier asked for help, but police didn’t call an ambulance, the lawsuit said, and instead put him in the back of a patrol car. Before the car left, one officer asked if they should take Barrier to the hospital, but another said, “No, he’s psychotic. He’s going to jail.”

On the way to the police station, Barrier suffered a seizure and moaned in pain, but the officer didn’t stop to check on him, the lawsuit said. Barrier was unconscious and slumped over when the police car arrived at the police station.

Once officers got him out of the car and into the building, they talked about how to position his limp body, according to body camera video. One officer appeared to say that Barrier was unresponsive but may have been faking.

Another chuckled as she joked with a colleague about ways they could wake him up.

“After the Officers carried Mr. Barrier’s unconscious body into the booking area,” the lawsuit said, “they kept him handcuffed and laughed at his condition while Mr. Barrier took his last breaths on the 23rd birthday.”

Christine Dempsey can be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.

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