NORTHAMPTON — A man is suing the city, the Northampton Police Department and four officers, alleging that one officer beat him for about two minutes and that police violated his constitutional rights during a 2023 response to a call about an injured man.
On Nov. 6, 2023, a passerby on the bike path in Northampton called 911 after seeing John Woodside bleeding from the head and “stumbling around,” according to the complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Springfield. The caller did not report any criminal activity, only that the man was hurt, the complaint states.
Northampton Police Officer Jonathan Bartlett arrived and touched Woodside in an attempt to gain physical control of him, according to the complaint. When Woodside pulled away, Bartlett interpreted the movement as “aggressive” and detained him, according to the complaint.
“[Woodside] then moved his shoulder, and defendant Bartlett concluded that the plaintiff was about to punch [him],” the complaint alleges. “Bartlett responded by knocking the plaintiff to the ground. For approximately two minutes, defendant Bartlett hit and punched the plaintiff in the face and head.”
Bartlett repeatedly shouted at Woodside to “stop resisting” as he punched him, the complaint alleges. When Officers Kenneth Kirchner, Matthew Perkins and Elijah Pack arrived, they continued to “grapple with and physically strike” Woodside, according to the complaint.
The complaint also alleges Bartlett falsely claimed that Woodside tried to disarm an officer, assaulted an officer and smelled of alcohol, in an effort to bring criminal charges against him.
Alan Wolf, chief of staff to Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, told the Gazette that the city cannot comment on active litigation. Woodside’s attorney, Dana Goldblatt, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
According to the complaint, Woodside has schizoaffective disorder and had been experiencing “symptoms that would be classified as psychotic” the morning of the incident. The complaint states his condition made him especially vulnerable to cognitive effects from head trauma.
“It is likely that the plaintiff’s symptoms of schizoaffective disorder will develop more severely because of the injuries to his head that Mr. Bartlett and the other defendants caused,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit states that at various public hearings between 2020 and 2023, the mayor attended City Council meetings at which “hundreds” of members of the public said they felt “unsafe or had actually been attacked by plice officers who were sent to resolve emergency medical calls like this one.”
“The city has been on notice for years that its police officers respond negligently, recklessly and wrongfully to physical and mental health crises,” the suit states.
In addition to the battery claims, Woodside alleges the officers and the city violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by “knowingly or recklessly” denying him safe emergency services, and abused the legal process by using criminal charges for “an ulterior or illegitimate purpose.” He is seeking a jury trial.
Magistrate Judge Christopher Morgan allowed Woodside to proceed in forma pauperis, a status that lets people with limited financial resources file a lawsuit without paying court fees and related costs.
