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Attleboro police sued over '07 arrest
Top Headlines Father, son claim excessive force was used
ATTLEBORO - A father and his son have filed a federal lawsuit claiming two city police officers used excessive force when they arrested the pair in connection with a hit-and-run accident in which the victim was the 13-year-old son of another police officer.Robert F. Robinson and his son Mario T. Robinson claim they were physically assaulted by Detective Timothy Cook Sr. and Cook's son, Timothy Cook Jr., when they were arrested on July 12, 2007, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston. The Robinsons, of 60 Lynwood Circle, were charged following the hit-and-run accident in which the son of Detective Alex Aponte was struck by a car after the occupants of the vehicle verbally abused the boy and a 13-year-old friend who was with him, according to the suit. The elder Robinson, who was 46 at the time, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury, negligent operation, aggravated assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, but the charges were later dismissed, according to the suit. Mario Robinson was charged with assault and battery on a police officer and disorderly conduct, which were also later dismissed, according to the suit. The suit alleges Timothy Cook Jr. struck Mario Robinson in the face and choked him in the booking room after Timothy Cook Sr. grabbed the telephone out of his hands. While interviewing Robert Robinson, the suit alleges, Timothy Cook Sr. placed his firearm "menacingly" on the table so that Robinson felt "apprehension for his personal safety." Robert Robinson also alleges Cook Sr. pushed him against the wall while in an elevator at the station and tried to bait him into a physical confrontation by making "derogatory comments about Robert Robinson's abilities as a father," according to the suit. The city of Attleboro is also named as a defendant in the suit, allegedly because it failed to adequately train and supervise police officers, particularly in a case in which the victim of a crime is the son of a police officer. The plaintiffs claim their constitutional rights were violated and are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive money damages and payment, including legal fees, associated with filing the lawsuit. Police Chief Richard Pierce Sr. and Robert Mangiaratti, the city solicitor, said they have not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment. The standard procedure when a claim is filed against the city is to check with the city insurance carrier to determine whether the claim is covered under the city's insurance policy. The lawyer for the Robinsons, Stephen Hrones of Boston, declined to comment on the lawsuit other than to say the city of Attleboro earlier settled a civil claim filed against Timothy Cook Sr. by a client who was charged with stealing money from a wallet he found and turned over to police. The man, Endri Cenolli, was found innocent last year after a jury-waived trial. He claimed afterwards that he was a victim of false arrest and malicious prosecution. The lawyer who filed the claim, Joseph Chancellor of Boston, said the claim was settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum of money. CORRECTION: The name of the plantiffs' lawyer was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.
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s-plumb wrote on Mar 8, 2010 2:26 PM:
ucbruin wrote on Mar 8, 2010 10:46 AM:
Honest1 wrote on Mar 8, 2010 7:40 AM:
Honest1 wrote on Mar 8, 2010 7:37 AM:
ucbruin wrote on Mar 7, 2010 8:20 PM:
ucbruin wrote on Mar 7, 2010 8:14 PM:
kimmiemay wrote on Mar 7, 2010 8:00 PM:
I understand the responsibility the police have and I feel they do it very well. And yes I understand that there are some corrupt police too and bad ones but I know the Cooks and this whole article is unfair to them. Of course everyone is going to have an opinion but it's one sided. The Cooks side isn't printed anywhere. They haven't had a chance to tell their side. Their side matters just as much as the plaintiff's. Everyone has a right to defend themselves but since they haven't been given the chance of course everyone is going to take the Robinson's side. And yes I may seem one sided but I know them personally. And I still agree with everything s-plumb is stating and always will. And if no one likes that is just too fricken bad. "
s-plumb wrote on Mar 7, 2010 4:55 PM:
ucbruin wrote on Feb 10, 2010 10:59 AM:
" s-plumb-You make an excellent point. I have no evidence that the accusation is either true or false. " "
s-plumb wrote on Mar 7, 2010 3:37 PM:
God forbid this guy ever gets audited by the IRS. Imagine if the agent placed his pen on the table and gave him instructions to produce specific documentation. Who will he sue then?
Keep posting if it makes you happy. In a few days this story won't be visible...nearly erased; Just as it should be :) "
ucbruin wrote on Mar 7, 2010 2:00 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Mar 7, 2010 1:02 PM:
I have no idea if the child suffered physical or emotional injuries, nor do I know if ANYTHING the poor "gentleman" alleges, actually happened.
May I suggest that you know at least as little as me?
Once again, this is nothing but a one-sided advertisement for a law suit, and I read it in that context. "
ucbruin wrote on Mar 7, 2010 12:50 PM:
ucbruin wrote on Mar 7, 2010 8:54 AM:
s-plumb wrote on Mar 7, 2010 8:17 AM:
If the driver was injuried as a result of abuse, why is this a civil case? There are "bad (acting) humans". "
ucbruin wrote on Mar 6, 2010 10:35 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Mar 6, 2010 6:47 PM:
As posted early on, the parents of the youngster who was actually struck by the car should bring a civil suit greater than the amount this driver is suing US for. We'll see who's less culpable. Let's try the cases at the same time. We can compare injuries to the child to the injured ego of this "gentleman". Imagine having to follow orders while in custody... "
ucbruin wrote on Mar 6, 2010 10:59 AM:
s-plumb wrote on Mar 6, 2010 9:27 AM:
What is your point? "
ucbruin wrote on Mar 5, 2010 9:14 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Mar 5, 2010 10:48 AM:
attlesoldier wrote on Mar 4, 2010 1:35 PM:
Honest1 wrote on Mar 4, 2010 6:07 AM:
ucbruin wrote on Mar 3, 2010 11:19 AM:
kimmiemay wrote on Mar 2, 2010 2:00 PM:
I agree alot with S-Plumb and they make some really good points. Tim Cook Sr saved my life and if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be alive today. Does anyone realize how much good he had done and how many lives he has saved. Nobody has mentioned that, everyone has been concentrating on the bad and not the good. Samething goes for Tim Cook Jr, he has done so much good as well and again nobody is talking about that. I agree alot with what s-plumb has posted. I hope this case is dropped and that the Robinsons realize that they are in the wrong. "
olsonbbl wrote on Feb 27, 2010 12:37 PM:
jrjrg123 wrote on Feb 26, 2010 9:04 AM:
jose21 wrote on Feb 17, 2010 3:42 PM:
jimmyahs wrote on Feb 16, 2010 1:32 PM:
What an idiot.
I can't imagine the situation where it's justified for two male police officers to beat down a 16-year-old. "
s-plumb wrote on Feb 16, 2010 12:55 PM:
The whole point is that in presenting her story, she reveiled her possible history and motives to a point where the average reader was convinced she was far more at fault than the officers involved.
It's difficult to imagine a scenario in which the police did anything wrong. "
ucbruin wrote on Feb 15, 2010 8:39 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 15, 2010 6:40 PM:
Even though her story was the only one out there, she was not only inconsistent, but added details that raised questions about her past with the law, and motives behind the law suit.
You, and most others looked at that one-sided story and found it irrational. If we were not to have an opinion, why was it intentionally placed in the only paper in the city by her attorney?
Have no fear in forming an opinion. "
attle wrote on Feb 15, 2010 5:38 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 15, 2010 10:08 AM:
Have the 13 y/o who was hit sue the driver for more than he is suing us for. We'll see if which case is dropped. "
ucbruin wrote on Feb 15, 2010 9:46 AM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 15, 2010 9:35 AM:
attle wrote on Feb 15, 2010 8:16 AM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 13, 2010 2:30 PM:
kimmiemay wrote on Feb 12, 2010 9:02 PM:
" This whole thing is a bunch of crud. Why are they waiting 3 years later to file anything. Also why is a past story being brought up about Tim Cook Sr. He is a great man and he does job well. So doesn't Tim Cook Jr. We should be thanking them both for keeping our city safe. Mr Robinson is in the wrong. How can he sleep at knowing what he did to that poor 13 year old. He's an adult and should know better. Nice parenting. I hope the officers did the Robinson's said. They both deserve it. "
s-plumb wrote on Feb 11, 2010 4:52 AM:
The $100k paid by the insurance co. for Princessgate was the cheapest way to deal with the perfect storm of a tainted pool of jurors, tried in the press, because of the limitations (ie sealed records) in a juvenile case,. "
jimmyahs wrote on Feb 10, 2010 9:26 PM:
Vladsback!! wrote on Feb 10, 2010 8:59 PM:
jarcher wrote on Feb 10, 2010 8:36 PM:
ucbruin wrote on Feb 10, 2010 7:57 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 10, 2010 6:56 PM:
To play devil's advocate...The pattern may be poor prosecution, or "everybody knows somebody affect"...
I don't think this alleged purp would be let off because he was roughed up or felt uncomfortable. Why was a decision made to refuse a jury trial? Why weren’t the officers charged criminally?
Again, our imaginations will always fill in the blanks when a 1-sided story is presented. "
steves wrote on Feb 10, 2010 6:36 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 10, 2010 6:09 PM:
Why NOT give these guys the respect we give civilians? "
s-plumb wrote on Feb 10, 2010 6:07 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 10, 2010 6:00 PM:
In this case, there is NO evidence. None.
We will never hear the officers' story, so why pre-judge? We can only fill in the blanks with our own imaginations.
Princessgate was an automatic payment. It was cheaper to pay than defend a juvenille case.
Crucifixgate was another rouse, based upon a one-sided report that fit our mind's picture.
We also had the case of a homeless man who was arrested for a parole violation, as a means to detain him as a result of a 1st hand identification of the assaulted “tween”. The police were hammered for this too. Why wasn't the prosecutor blamed? Do we just like attorneys no matter which side they’re on? "
formerattleresident wrote on Feb 10, 2010 5:47 PM:
There are some good cops in attleboro. But from friends i know in attleboro the cooks are well ill let you use your imangination.
I come from a big city where there is 15-20,000 cops on the force and unlike attleboro who has 100, some of the attleboro cops act like there jobs are so stressful. Mind you being a cop is but not like the bigger cities like LA,Chicago,Miami,NYC "
jarcher wrote on Feb 10, 2010 5:39 PM:
jarcher wrote on Feb 10, 2010 5:36 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 10, 2010 5:34 PM:
SER21 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 4:45 PM:
steves wrote on Feb 10, 2010 4:15 PM:
" With all due respect, what doesn't surprise you?
What doesn't surprise me is that A.P.D. is being accused of excessive force again.
Another case where the charges were dropped and police misconduct is alleged. It seems they use intimidation to force a confession if the evidence won't support a conviction. "
ADrock8 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 2:39 PM:
jose21 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 1:53 PM:
kavin goodwin wrote on Feb 10, 2010 1:20 PM:
I was harassed by a police officer, and tehre was nothing I could do, other than file a complaint, for which I was never called. A couple years later, street signs in Attleboro had the officer's name with the word "#$ck in front of it. I guess I wasn't the only person harassed by this insolent white haired slob of a man.
There was nothing I could do at the time, couldn't afford an attorney to file charges. My revenge will come, but in the mean time I am happy that all these suits are being brought against Attleboro police.
To those that think they are innocent, and also stood up for then "men" who beat the high school girl because she wasn't white, why were the charges dropped in both cases?
If the person was guilty and they were not, how in the heck would they drop the charges that were filed? If you can't explain it, the police can't explain it, the mayor can't explain it---they I will. They went over the line, just like Attleboro police seem to do quite often. Now we the citizenry will pay for this, and hopefully the "men" will pay with their jobs. "
familyguy wrote on Feb 10, 2010 1:03 PM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 10, 2010 1:03 PM:
The suspect's story is nothing more than rumor, that cannot be responded to. "
carfather wrote on Feb 10, 2010 12:31 PM:
sparky wrote on Feb 10, 2010 11:46 AM:
steves wrote on Feb 10, 2010 11:42 AM:
On the other hand I have broken the law and been treated with all due respect by other officers.
Seeing the charges were dropped I don't think the cop's have a leg to stand on this time. "
ucbruin wrote on Feb 10, 2010 10:59 AM:
jorod03 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 10:52 AM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 10, 2010 10:10 AM:
lal1234 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 9:57 AM:
radar57 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 9:53 AM:
s-plumb wrote on Feb 10, 2010 9:50 AM:
radar57 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 9:42 AM:
jose21 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 9:37 AM:
ADrock8 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 9:37 AM:
romanjor wrote on Feb 10, 2010 9:31 AM:
ucbruin wrote on Feb 10, 2010 8:12 AM:
wdcvic wrote on Feb 10, 2010 6:16 AM:
kavin goodwin wrote on Feb 10, 2010 4:45 AM:
071297 wrote on Feb 10, 2010 4:16 AM:
What about the rights of the 13 year old that they left for dead? "
nannystate wrote on Feb 10, 2010 3:09 AM: