The family filed a lawsuit in 2003, charging a Springfield police officer with civil assault and violating their civil rights.
Ronald BoykanBOSTON - The Massachusetts Appeals Court on Wednesday reinstated a $1 million award for a Springfield family who sued the Springfield Police Department and patrolman Ronald Boykan.
In a decision written by Appeals Court Judge Frederick L. Brown, the court also criticized the city for what the court said was "a tepid disciplinary action" against Boykan that displayed indifference toward Boykan's conduct.
"The city failed to teach by positive example and instead with its police officer bred contempt in its citizenry for agents of law enforcement," the judge wrote in the decision.
The $1 million default judgment and damages were ordered in August 2004.
The family -- Lucy Jones and her adult children Nicole N. and Sierra Jones and William S. Owens Jr. -- filed a lawsuit in June 2003, charging Boykan with civil assault and battery and violation of their civil rights and the federal consumer protection laws.
Lucy Jones stated that on June 12, 1999, Boykan burst into their family-owned convenience store at 166 Boston Road convenience store and went into unauthorized areas without explanation.
Boykan arrested Owens, returned and explored the store again and struck Lucy Jones on the head, according to the lawsuit, which maintains that Boykan then arrested Nicole Jones with excessive force.
Boykan has said he was seeking a crime suspect he believed was inside the store. The Appeals Court said Boykan made the arrests and searched the store without a warrant or probable cause.
A Superior Court jury exonerated Jones and Owens of all charges, the Appeals Court said.
The family sued the city and Boykan. The city was properly served notice and Boykan also admitted he was notified, the Appeals Court said. The city then filed papers with the family, arguing partly that the lawsuit was not filed within the legal time limits. The city and Boykan, however, did not file these papers with the Superior Court and then failed to attend court hearings without offering an excuse for ignoring the case, the Appeals Court said.
A court clerk then issued a default against the city and Boykan and a judge later awarded $1 million in damages.
The city then filed an emergency motion to vacate the $1 million award. A Hampden Superior Court judge eventually dismissed the family's appeal in 2005, citing deficient serving of court papers on Boykan, the Appeals Court said. The Appeals Court said the judge erred in his ruling, saying Boykan was notified of the lawsuit well in advance of the default judgment.
The city's former Police Commission ruled in 2002 that Boykan 's conduct on June 12, 1999, was unbecoming of an officer. He was required to attend remedial classroom training but no restitution was required, the Appeals Court said.
The commission docked him a day's pay, issued a reprimand letter and sent Boykan to sensitivity training.