Sullivan

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The incident that gave rise to this litigation occurred on August 19, 2019, and the trial took place in April and May of 2024.1 The entire incident was captured on Officer Colon’s BWC footage, which is part of the appellate record.2 The footage begins as Officer Colon exited the passenger side of a marked police vehicle, carrying a mobile data terminal. He approached a black Range Rover that was stopped off the street. Moving to the driver’s side of the vehicle, the driver (Sullivan) lowered the window as Officer Colon made contact with him. Sullivan appeared calm as he interacted with Officer Colon. When questioned, Sullivan stated he did not have his driver’s license with him, the vehicle belonged to his cousin, and he was driving the vehicle with his cousin’s permission. Officer Colon informed Sullivan the car’s registration was expired and asked him to open the door so he could scan the vehicle identification number. Sullivan complied, and Officer Colon scanned the number. Officer Colon then returned to the police vehicle, entered the passenger seat, and spoke briefly with his partner,

1 The case originally was tried in 2022 in the United States…