Hamden, CT Lawsuit Settlements: Police, Firefighter, and Pension Cases

Recent lawsuit settlements involving Hamden, CT have covered police misconduct, a fire department promotion dispute, and pension benefits for hundreds of retirees. The largest resolved payout was $1.1 million to Stephanie Washington, an unarmed passenger shot by a Hamden officer in 2019. Two other significant cases — a federal suit over a wrong-apartment raid and a former firefighter’s reverse discrimination claim — remain pending. A pension dispute affecting roughly 600 retirees reached a settlement in principle in 2022, contingent on council action.

Stephanie Washington Police Shooting: $1.1 Million

On April 16, 2019, Hamden Police Officer Devin Eaton fired 13 rounds at a vehicle in New Haven after misidentifying it as connected to an armed robbery report. Stephanie Washington, an unarmed passenger, was struck four times and sustained injuries to her spine, sacrum, and pelvis. The driver, Paul Witherspoon III, was not hit.¹

Washington sued Eaton, the Town of Hamden, Yale University police officer Terrance Pollock (who also fired at the vehicle), and others in federal court in August 2020. The case settled for approximately $1.1 million, paid through the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency, Hamden’s insurance provider. The settlement includes no admission of liability and contains a confidentiality clause preventing Washington from publicly discussing the case. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit as settled.²

Witherspoon reached a separate settlement with the town, approved by the Hamden Legislative Council in November 2020. Its dollar amount is confidential.³

Eaton was criminally charged with first-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He pleaded no contest, was convicted of assault, and was sentenced to probation and community service. As part of his plea he agreed never to work in law enforcement again, and he resigned from the department in 2022.¹

Wrong-Apartment Raid: Scott v. Town of Hamden (Pending)

Sharnita Scott and her 16-year-old son filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on March 24, 2026, one year to the day after officers from the Hamden Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit executed a search warrant at their St. Mary Street apartment. According to the complaint, the officers used battering rams to breach the door of the family’s second-floor unit and deployed stun grenades inside while the two were asleep. The intended target was a first-floor apartment. The suit alleges that officers held the pair at gunpoint and continued to detain them even after realizing they had entered the wrong unit.⁴

The case, docketed as 3:26-cv-00444 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, names the Town of Hamden, former Lt. Jomo Crawford, Officer Richard Cotto, and Officer Enrique Rivera-Rodriguez.⁵ The complaint brings claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for unlawful entry, excessive force, unlawful seizure, denial of due process, and conspiracy, and it alleges the town failed to adequately train its officers. The plaintiffs cite damage to their door, frames, locks, and carpet, along with emotional distress and anxiety. The dollar amount sought has not been disclosed.⁶

The case is assigned to Judge Victor A. Bolden. As of mid-2026, summons had been issued to all defendants and no settlement discussions have been reported.⁵

Firefighter Reverse Discrimination Claim: McCarthy v. Town of Hamden (Pending)

Former Hamden Fire Department Lieutenant James McCarthy sued the town in Connecticut Superior Court in July 2025, alleging he was denied promotions because of his race. The complaint, filed under docket CT_SUP_NNH_CV_25_6157582_S, claims the town violated the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act through reverse discrimination tied to the department’s diversity initiatives.⁷

Two promotion decisions are at issue. In May 2022, McCarthy alleges he was passed over for a Fire Training Officer position in favor of Julio Lopes despite holding an EMSI certification Lopes lacked. On January 9, 2023, the Hamden Fire Commission voted 3-2 to promote Lt. Joseph Anderson to Fire Captain, even though McCarthy was ranked first on the promotional list and Anderson second. Commissioners Hill, Rankins, and Tinney voted for Anderson; Commissioners Mitchell and Poindexter voted for McCarthy.⁷

The suit alleges that Hamden’s mayor and specific Fire Commissioners had publicly stated goals to increase racial diversity in the department, and that those goals motivated the promotion decisions. McCarthy served from 2001 until retiring on May 1, 2024, and says the alleged discrimination contributed to that decision. He is seeking monetary damages, attorney’s fees, and punitive damages. The case remained pending as of mid-2026.

Pension Settlement With Retirees

In November 2020, more than 200 retirees organized as the Hamden Guardian Services Retirees Association sued the town after it reduced pension benefits for roughly 600 recipients. The reductions followed a determination by consulting firm Segal that Hamden had been miscalculating cost-of-living adjustments for years, automatically granting the maximum 3% annual increase regardless of actual inflation. Individual cuts ranged from less than 1% to more than 11%. The town also considered pursuing repayment of an estimated $12.3 million in past overpayments, a figure that reached about $16.5 million with interest.⁸

By October 2022, the parties reached a pending settlement. The town agreed not to seek recoupment of overpayments made before September 1, 2020, and the retirees accepted the 2020 recalculations going forward. Individual members kept the right to challenge specific calculations they believed were in error. The town also agreed to provide retirees with annual written statements detailing benefit calculations. The deal required the Legislative Council to adopt an ordinance ratifying all pension payments made before September 2020 to take effect. As of the last available reporting, the ordinance had cleared the council’s personnel committee but still needed full council approval. The corrected calculations were projected to save the town about $1 million annually in pension fund contributions.⁸

Earlier Excessive Force Settlements

Hamden’s recent legal exposure follows a longer pattern of excessive force claims against its police department. In 2014, the town settled three federal lawsuits for a combined $70,500:

Anthony Randolph received $60,000. He alleged that Officer Timothy Brown punched him while he was handcuffed during an August 2010 arrest, causing fractures to his nose, eye socket, and skull.
Robert Tagliaferi received $7,500. His 2010 lawsuit claimed that during a January 2008 arrest, officers punched and kicked him, causing traumatic brain injury, facial scarring, and partial vision loss.
Troy Cosentino received $3,000. He alleged officers kicked and punched him while he was restrained during a 2009 arrest, leading to a two-week hospitalization.

A separate federal complaint by Vester Williams alleged that in September 2011, Officers Brown and May repeatedly fired a Taser at him and stomped and kicked him in the head.⁹¹⁰

Fiscal Context

The Hamden Legislative Council approved a $327.8 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27, raising the mill rate from 51.88 to 53.67. Mayor Adam Sendroff called the plan “structurally balanced” and a “bridge” to a stronger fiscal future, and Council President Katie Kiely said the council was committed to “not repeating mistakes” of the past.¹¹ Town budget documents list litigation and arbitration among the risks that could affect actual results, though specific legal settlement line items were not publicly detailed in available materials.¹²

1
Hartford Courant. Connecticut Woman Shot by Officer Gets $1.1M Settlement
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New Haven Register. Woman Shot by Hamden Cop Gets $1 Million Settlement
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New Haven Register. Man Shot at by Hamden Police Officer to Receive Settlement
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WFSB. Mother, Son File Suit Against Hamden Officers Over Wrongful Search Warrant Execution
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PACER Monitor. Scott et al v. Town of Hamden et al
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New Haven Register. Hamden Police Raid Sharnita Scott Lawsuit
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Fire Law Blog. Connecticut Firefighter Sues Department Alleging Reverse Discrimination in Promotions
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New Haven Register. Hamden Won’t Go After Pension Overpayments
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New Haven Register. Hamden Settles 3 Police Excessive Force Lawsuits
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CT Insider. Excessive Force Complaints, Lawsuits Plague Hamden
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New Haven Register. Hamden Budget Tax Rate
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Town of Hamden. Financial Information