A man shot by a Henniker officer after a snowy car chase in 2014 is seeking $5 million in damages, claiming he suffered emotional and physical injuries as a result of the officer’s actions.
Aaron Cadman of Troy, N.Y., who was previously convicted of related criminal charges, recently filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Concord against Henniker police Officer Stephen Dennis, the Henniker Police Department and the town. Cadman is seeking a jury trial.
He alleges that Dennis used “excessive deadly force” by firing his weapon on a state highway in Henniker on Nov. 26, 2014. The bullet ripped through Cadman’s left elbow, leaving him permanently disabled and with medical bills of more than $114,000, according to the lawsuit filed by Cadman’s attorney, George Campbell III.
Campbell maintains Cadman never posed a threat to Dennis’s safety, and that Dennis’s decision to use deadly force was “unnecessary” and “unreasonable.”
However, the state attorney general’s office found in its review of the case in January 2015 that Dennis was justified when he shot Cadman, who he mistakenly believed had a gun.
The incident unfolded during a heavy snowstorm the day before Thanksgiving. A man reported about 4:20 p.m. that Cadman, then 19, had stolen his truck in Franklin and had struck him as he drove off. At that time, Cadman was spending his second day at Webster Place in Franklin, where he was receiving treatment for heroin addiction.
Police were able to track the stolen truck using an onboard navigation system, according to an arrest report.
Dennis spotted the truck about 5:15 p.m., traveling west on Route 202/9 near the Route 114 overpass. He began to give chase, but was slowed by heavy snowfall. The truck, a late model GMC Sierra, then collided with another truck, spun out of control and slammed into another car, injuring two people in the process.
According to the attorney general’s report, Dennis quickly reached the scene and exited his cruiser, gun drawn. He took cover near a truck about 20 feet away and shouted at Cadman to show him his hands. When Cadman repeatedly refused, and as he continued to rummage around the cab of the stolen truck with his back turned to Dennis, the officer took aim at his shoulder and pulled the trigger once.
Dennis claimed he would have been an open target if Cadman were to pivot toward him with a gun. He “also considered that there were other motorists behind him and if Cadman fired a weapon other people in addition to himself were going to get hurt,” the report said.
In the civil lawsuit filed in mid-May, Campbell argues that Cadman “posed no threat to the safety of Officer Dennis, other officers on the scene or civilians on the scene.”
Furthermore, he said, the decision Dennis made to use deadly force is a reflection of the “inadequacies and shortcomings” of the policies and procedures of the Henniker Police Department and the town officials who oversee it. Campbell said ineffective policies create a dangerous situation for police officers and the communities they serve.
Nashua attorney Brian Cullen – who is representing Dennis, the police department and the town – could not be reached for comment Monday. Henniker Town Administrator Christine Trovato referred all questions about the case to Cullen.