Man roughly arrested by Peekskill police in viral video resolves all charges, turns attention to lawsuit
Now that the last of Damar Fields' charges — a drug charge from September that was never prosecuted — was dismissed Thursday, Fields' team is going on the offensive.
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Damar Fields — the man seen being violently arrested in a viral video that shocked Peekskill officials and residents — is moving forward with legal action against the city and its police department.
Fields' attorneys first wanted to resolve any charges related to — and unrelated to — the Dec. 3 incident at Riverfront Green Park before taking further action.
Now that the last of Fields' charges — a drug charge from September that was never prosecuted — was dismissed on Thursday, Fields' team is going on the offensive.
"He has a clean slate," Fields' advocate, civil rights activist Darrell Davis, said as he and Fields, 42, left Peekskill City Court. "All of the charges, all of them, all of them, are gone."
Three other charges directly stemming from Fields' encounter with Peekskill police officers were dropped last month in exchange for Fields pleading guilty to a lesser violation.
Cellphone video and police body-camera video show Officer Daniel Regg approaching Fields, who had his pants down and was acting erratically by the gazebo.
Regg tased Fields once, which dropped him to the ground, and then several more times as he tried to cuff Fields.
Regg also kicked and punched Fields several times, bloodying his face.
After about six minutes, other officers arrived, removed Regg from the situation and completed the arrest.
Regg and Officer Angelo Cintron were suspended without pay in February for policy violations and are in termination proceedings.
Fields' attorney, Michael Sussman, said Fields' taking responsibility for what he did back on Dec. 3 "is a proper foundation for a lawsuit."
"Now we can file the lawsuit in federal court," Davis said. "We can focus on Damar, getting him healthy, and help him address the difficult issues and challenges that he has now."
Fields is homeless and has long struggled with mental illness, according to his family.
One of the three disciplinary charges against Regg was for failure to follow use of force policies for when dealing with an emotionally disturbed person.
Regg has since retained counsel and has vowed to fight his termination. His attorney was not immediately available Thursday for comment.
The Peekskill Police Benevolent Association has backed Regg, saying he used the proper level of force and has the union's "unequivocal support."
Sussman said Thursday he needs to work out some details and he will file the lawsuit by May 30.
