What NOW?! New allegations against troubled Butler Police Department



BUTLER (WITI) -- There are new accusations against the Village of Butler Police Department. A New Berlin man has filed a federal civil lawsuit against the Village of Butler -- three Butler police officers, and Butler's former police chief Michael Cosgrove.

Gary Stone says in May of 2011, he was pulled over in the Village of Butler.

Police suspected Stone was drunk.

Stone says he is disabled, and could not complete sobriety tests.

In the lawsuit, Stone says while being arrested, Butler Police Officer Brian Pergande hit him in the head and slammed him into the wall of a building.

He says Butler Police Officer Nicholas Boyle and Officer Pergande kneed him, kicked him and stomped on him with their boots.

He even claimed Officer Pergande spit on him.

Stone says the Butler Police Department destroyed evidence of his injuries after he was taken to the hospital.

In a Butler Police Department report, officers say Stone was seen driving through a muddy field, before he was stopped. The report says Stone had red, glassy eyes.

Police say Stone was uncooperative from the start -- cursing and yelling.

When officers went to make an arrest, they say Stone swung his right elbow at Officer Pergande and resisted arrest. He was eventually tased.

Police say they were unable to take photos of Stone's injuries sustained during the arrest because he wouldn't sit still.

Whose account of event is the right account of events is something that will be decided in federal court.

Stone filed a federal civil lawsuit last week -- seeking monetary damages.

Whatever the outcome -- this case marks the first federal civil suit filed against the Butler Police Department -- a department that's already in hot water.

Pergande is facing unemployment and criminal charges after prosecutors say he took inappropriate pictures of a stripper under arrest to share with co-workers.

Officer Nicholas Boyle was an officer when most were caught watching porn on the job.

"Obviously there have been lots of issues that have been raised," Attorney Jon Safran said.

Safran specializes in federal civil cases.

Could this case be the tip of the iceberg for more cases against the tiny Village of Butler?

"I mean it's hard to tell. This is a specific instance of a specific event. So it's not as though this individual seems to be alleging a widespread practice or something. So it's tough to know," Safran said.

What is for certain is the shadow of the Butler Police Department's past actions continues to hang over the department that says its number one goal is to restore the community's trust.

Prosecutors dropped charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest against Stone in 2011.

However, he pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated.

Stone claims he wasn't drunk -- but he says he did marijuana a few days before he was arrested to ease pain from his disability.

Village officials and Stone's attorney were unavailable for comment on this story.