A federal trial for one of four civil rights lawsuits alleging the Easton Police Department used excessive force is scheduled to start in three weeks.
All four civil suits have been filed by Allentown lawyer John P. Karoly.
The lawsuit going to trial stems from a March 6, 1999, incident during which former Easton resident Keith A. Rosenberg's face and shoulder were mauled by a police dog while he was handcuffed.
U.S. District Court Senior Judge Robert F. Kelly has reserved three to four days for the trial, scheduled to begin April 12 in Philadelphia.
This will be the third trial in 12 months in which Karoly has represented victims of alleged police brutality.
The previous two were high-profile cases that ended in awards totalling nearly $10 million.
Bethlehem last week agreed to a nearly $8 million settlement for the police department's 1997 killing of John Hirko Jr. in a drug raid. The settlement came after a six-month trial and jury verdict in favor of Karoly's clients — Hirko's mother, fiancee and landlord.
Karoly also represented one of three men assaulted by Easton police officers on a Delaware River bridge after the 1997 Easton-Phillipsburg high school football game.
The jury awarded a total of $1.3 million to the plaintiffs after a three-week trial that ended in May 2003. To avoid costly legal appeals of the verdict, the city's insurance company agreed to pay $1.9 million.
Unlike Bethlehem, which may borrow money to pay the settlement, Easton's insurance company covered all legal and settlement costs. That's because the insurance company took the case to trial against the advice of city officials who recommended settling for $1 million — the city's maximum coverage per incident.
No conferences have been scheduled to discuss a settlement with Rosenberg, who is suing the city, its police department, former Mayor Thomas F. Goldsmith, former Police Chief Larry Palmer and two other police officers.
Rosenberg alleges Officer Michael Vangelo commanded a police dog, Bere, to attack him while he was lying on the ground after Officer David Beitler handcuffed him. Rosenberg was captured after he ran away after police stopped a stolen car in which he was a passenger.
Beitler is not named as a defendant in the suit. It names Vangelo and his supervisor at the time, former Capt. Douglas S. Schlegel, as defendants.
The lawsuit, filed in May 2001, said Vangelo allowed Bere to ''bite and tear at his flesh'' in violation of the department's use of force policies.
Karoly has made the department's alleged history of ignoring — to the point of accepting — excessive force a critical element in his cases against the city.
The pattern of police brutality Karoly laid out during last year's trial, in which Vangelo also was a defendant, heavily influenced jurors responsible for the $1.3 million verdict.
Karoly also is the lawyer representing Jack Cuvo, Devin L. Moore and Joel J. Laughlin in separate federal lawsuits alleging Easton police officers used excessive force against them.
Last year, attorney Stephen M. Mowrey settled a case with Easton for $75,000 on behalf of Liam Williams, who was bitten by a police dog while handcuffed.
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