AMHERST – A longtime activist who sued the town of Amherst and CVS Pharmacy, claiming he was was roughed up by police officers while being served a trespass notice in 2012, has received a $5,500 settlement.
The town in early July agreed to settle the case in Hampshire Superior Court filed by Richard Maximus Strahan, of 112 Eastman Lane, said Peter Hechenbleikner, interim town manager. The town’s insurance will cover the payment, Hechenbleikner said.
Court documents show the case was dismissed July 1 with prejudice, meaning Strahan cannot bring the facts of the lawsuit back to court.
Strahan, who calls himself a “citizen attorney general” and frequently files lawsuits against the government, said Tuesday he agreed to have the lawsuit dismissed because he is satisfied the department is no longer issuing trespass notices on behalf of businesses.
“It only got resolved because they backed down and changed their ways,” said Strahan, 64, a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston whose address is a UMass Amherst dormitory. He is an elected Town Meeting member, though he was absent from every session last spring.
Police Chief Scott Livingstone referred questions about the case to Hechenbleikner, who declined further comment.
In the lawsuit, Strahan asked for $100,000, alleging he was the victim of assault and battery, slander and false arrest during a Nov. 2, 2012, encounter near the CVS Pharmacy, 76 North Pleasant St. CVS, he said, asked the Police Department to give him a trespass notice to stay out of the store.
Named in the lawsuit were Livingstone, Capt. Jennifer Gundersen and officers John Chudzik, William Laramee and David Rhoades, as well as CVS Health.
“As the result of my lawsuit, the town of Amherst supposedly does not issue trespass notices any more,” Strahan said.
Instead, he said, it requests the Hampshire County Sheriff’s office to handle these. The trespass notices also no longer require a person’s Social Security number. Strahan contends that police used the Criminal Offender Record Information system to obtain his Social Security number when he refused to provide it to officers.
In addition to the lawsuit, Strahan said he obtained records from Amherst Police showing that hundreds of others have had their civil liberties compromised by police actions with regard to trespass notices, including students and homeless individuals.
Strahan said he will act again if he finds evidence the Police Department has not changed its procedures. “I may rally all citizens who have been hurt and file a class action lawsuit,” he said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
