Poughkeepsie man says he was Tasered, beaten

A Poughkeepsie man on Aug. 13 sued Putnam County and its Sheriff’s Department in federal court, alleging that a deputy or deputies assaulted him during an arrest last year that was “motivated by racial prejudice.”

Louis Rosado’s lawsuit names Deputies Shane Rossiter and William Rossiter, saying he was beaten and Tasered during a traffic stop on May 9, 2019, on the Taconic State Parkway. Rosado alleges excessive use of force and false arrest.

The Sheriff’s Department said that only Shane Rossiter was involved in the arrest. (The deputies are brothers.) Shane Rossiter signed each of the four tickets issued to Rosado that were included in court filings — one for misdemeanor drug possession, returnable to the Town of Kent court; and three for violations of state vehicle and traffic law, returnable to Putnam Valley court.

Rosado’s attorney, J.P. Delaney of the New York City firm O’Dwyer and Bernstien, did not immediately respond to an email seeking more details about the allegations. Putnam County said it does not comment on pending lawsuits.

In court documents, Rosado says he was driving home from his job as a steamfitter around 11:30 p.m. when he was pulled over in a northbound lane by an unmarked police vehicle. It is not clear why he was stopped but court documents imply the officer or officers believed Rosado was a suspect in a crime.

According to Rosado’s account, he did not resist arrest but was “intentionally, willfully, wantonly, maliciously and recklessly battered,” suffering injuries to his left arm, wrist and shoulder, and to his back and neck.

His lawsuit accuses the county and Sheriff’s Department of failing to properly screen, train and supervise the officer or officers and failing to discipline them for unspecified “prior instances of wrongful, improper, reckless and criminal acts and conduct.”

Rosado did not say how much he sought in damages but Delaney earlier filed notices with Kent and Putnam Valley that Rosado intended to sue each for $10 million. Rosado, in the affidavit, said he was still “not 100 percent sure” where the officers were from and initially thought they were from Kent and Putnam Valley.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

The Peekskill resident is a former reporter for the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, where he covered Sullivan County and later Newburgh. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Morgan State University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. Location: Cold Spring. Languages: English. Area of Expertise: General. He can be reached at [email protected].