Belleville Police Officer
Sean M. Harris
EAST ST. LOUIS • A
Belleville police officer arrested last fall is now the subject of a federal
civil suit over the same incident, his lawyer says.
Sean M. Harris, then 31,
was charged with official misconduct and misdemeanor battery stemming from an
encounter with a man in June 2011.
A lawsuit filed in federal
court here says that the man, Mark A. Bush, had called police on June 13, 2011,
to report harassing phone calls. Two officers came out and took a report.
After more calls came in
the next day, Bush called police again, and Harris was assigned to respond. He
was at Bush's home when another call came in and listened in, but refused to
file a report, saying that mutual threats had been made, the suit says.
After Bush's wife
threatened to call a shift supervisor, Harris grabbed Bush by the throat,
lifted him off the ground and pushed him backwards, the suit says. Bush fell
and landed on a brick step, then hit his head on the sidewalk, causing multiple
seizures and other injuries, the suit says.
The suit also names
Belleville and police Chief William Clay.
Bush lawyer Jim Ellis said
that Harris' criminal case is still pending.
Harris has been working
“inside desk duties” since his arrest, said Belleville police Capt. Don Sax.
Sax declined to comment on the suit.
Harris could not be
immediately reached for comment.