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Fuhrer.
In the wake of a damning report about a police raid at the Elevate Lounge, Yale senior Zach Fuhrer saw charges against him dropped.
Fuhrer was in the Crown Street club last October when cops and liquor control agents stormed in. He soon found himself arrested for interfering, one of five Yale students who were caught up in the raid.
On Friday in New Haven Superior Court, after 10 court appearances, the charges against 21-year-old Fuhrer were dropped. Fuhrer said the recent release of an internal affairs report on police conduct during the Elevate raid led to the dropping of the charges.
Fuhrer’s arrest was part of Operation Nightlife, a crackdown on rowdy behavior in the club district following a shootout between cops and clubgoers last fall. The raid on Elevate was one of a number of bar inspections performed by law enforcement officials. The police action prompted public outcry by Yale students who felt they had been mistreated by New Haven cops.
Like a number of other cop-related controversies from Operation Nightlife, the trouble in Elevate stemmed from the use of cellphones. Fuhrer was arrested after he allegedly disobeyed police commands to put away his phone.
An internal affairs investigation into the Elevate raid faulted the department for not having a clear policy on cell phones, but failed to find rule violations by individual officers. Another report found that former Assistant Chief Ariel Melendez violated 27-year-old Luis Luna’s rights in a separate incident in which he ordered him arrested for filming cops and then erased the video on his iPhone.
On Friday, Fuhrer said he is “ecstatic” that his case has finally ended.
After reading the internal affairs report, state prosecutor David Strollo “realized that they really had no evidence in support of the charges that were against me,” Fuhrer said. “He agreed to nolle the case with no stipulation to interfere with dismissal.”
Fuhrer’s attorney, Hugh Keefe, made a motion to dismiss the case, which was accepted by the prosecutor.
That leaves Fuhrer with the opportunity to pursue a civil suit against the police department, for false arrest. Fuhrer said he’s leaning toward pursuing such legal action.
“It’s definitely something I’m considering,” he said. “I’m considering filing the civil suit because finally I’m in a position of power where I can put them on the defensive. … It would almost be silly to let them wash their hands clean” of the incident.
Fuhrer recounted the events of the evening at Elevate. He said police were overly aggressive, used profanity, failed to tell him why he was being arrested, tased and beat another student without provocation, then bragged about it outside the club.
Fuhrer said he is pleased that the internal affairs report is recommending policy changes, but that it should have gone further by holding individual officers accountable for their actions.
“Hopefully this will encourage a greater culture of cop-watching in New Haven,” he said.
Of the four other students arrested in or outside Elevate, three still have pending cases, and one case was dismissed last month.
Glad charges were dropped. Hope he sues the NHPD, Melendez and the city of New Haven. Melendez should have a large portion of his retirement check sent to this student for the rest of his natural life.