‘Without Cause or Justification’: Vermont Must Pay Homeless Black Man $215K After Police Officer Slammed Him to Ground and Knocked Him Unconscious on Body Camera Video
The city of Burlington, Vermont, has paid $215,00 to settle a lawsuit accusing a police officer of using excessive force after he grabbed a Black man and slammed him to the ground, knocking him unconscious.
In his complaint filed in a U.S. District Court in Vermont in 2019, Mabior Jok, 40, sued Burlington, its police chief and two officers involved in his violent takedown in September 2018, which was captured on video by both bystanders and a police body camera.
Jok said he was standing outside a bar on Main Street in Burlington, engaged in a heated verbal dispute with “a group of associates,” when Officer Joseph Corrow approached from outside of his line of sight “without announcing himself or issuing any instructions,” grabbed him and threw him down, causing his head and face to strike the ground and rendering him unconscious, “without cause or justification.”
His suit said the unprovoked assault and battery caused Jok extensive physical injuries, disruption of normal body functioning, as well as mental suffering and emotional trauma, violating federal and state laws on the use of excessive force and constituting an illegal search and seizure.
At the time of the incident, Corrow said he’d seen Jok punch another man, a claim he repeated in an affidavit supporting a disorderly conduct charge against Jok, reported Seven Days, a Vermont news site. Charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest against Jok were later dropped by the county prosecutor.
An internal investigation by the Burlington police found that Corrow did not call for backup or use verbal commands but concluded that he did not use excessive force. The police chief added that Jok was known to officers “as a person who has a violent history who has attacked the community and police officers,” reported The Associated Press.
Jok’s case emerged as one of two notorious incidents — and federal lawsuits — involving charges of excessive force and brutality by Burlington police against Black residents in 2018.
The night after Jok’s encounter with Burlington police, Jeremie Meli, a Congolese man, was involved in a verbal altercation at a bar with several men when Officer Jason Bellavance approached and, without announcing his presence, shoved Meli with both hands. That caused Meli to fall backward, hit his head on a wall and become knocked out, suffering lasting brain damage, reported Seven Days.
Meli’s suit, like Jok’s, accused the city and police department of failing to properly train, sanction, or discipline officers concerning the constitutional and civil rights of citizens and victims, thereby causing police misconduct that has led to injuries by multiple Black residents.
Corrow and two officers involved in the Meli case were the focus of prolonged racial protests in Burlington in 2020. Bellavance was initially suspended, then left the department in 2020 following a city council-authorized buyout in which they gave him $300,000 in exchange for resigning, reported VTDigger.
The city settled with Meli and his two brothers last year for $750,000.
Jok’s settlement was approved by the city in late August, according to his attorney, Robb Spensley. The city’s insurer paid out $140,000 and the remaining $75,000 was covered by the city’s liability insurance reserve fund, officials told Seven Days.
“I would add this settlement is life-changing money for my client, who has been intermittently homeless for years,” Spensely said, noting that Jok is a refugee from South Sudan.
“We hope the resolution of this case provides some measure of relief for Mr. Jok,” Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak said in a statement on Thursday. “We also recognize the City must approach every instance where force is used as an opportunity to review what happened and ensure our police department training, practices, and policies emphasize de-escalation, minimal reliance on using force, and effective communication.”
Burlington residents will vote in November on a measure to increase civilian oversight of the city’s police department, allowing the existing police commission to review citizen complaints and misconduct allegations, and to recommend disciplinary action.
Jok might need to use his settlement award for ongoing legal expenses. He was arrested on April 21 and charged with four felonies for an alleged assault on a woman at a South Burlington Travelodge, where he reportedly choked and threatened to kill her with a knife.
A media release posted on X by Burlington Police about the incident said Jok was ordered held without bail due to his “extensive criminal history” in Vermont, where he has been charged with 52 misdemeanors and nine felonies.