A Maine man is suing a police officer and the town that employs him after the officer allegedly used excessive force that fractured the man’s neck and gave him a concussion.
Frederick Moody of Anson sued Fairfield and officer Joseph Kibbe on Friday in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor. Moody is seeking unspecified damages after the officer allegedly broke his neck. The Fairfield town website identifies an officer Joseph Kibbie in the police department.
The lawsuit alleges Kibbe violated Moody’s Fourth Amendment protection from excessive force and that Kibbe violated Maine law by assaulting and battering Moody. It also alleges Fairfield is liable because it oversees the use of force policies and has a practice of allowing officers to use excessive or inappropriate force.
Kibbe took Moody into protective custody for a mental health evaluation on Sept. 12, 2024, the lawsuit said. Moody was cooperative and went willingly to Kibbe’s cruiser to be taken to a Waterville hospital. Once the car was at the hospital in a secure garage bay, Kibbe escalated his force, the lawsuit said.
“This is an egregious case with a very serious injury,” Moody’s attorney, Matthew Bowen, said. “A person who is handcuffed in the back of a police car in a secure garage bay should not have their neck broken by the police.”
Moody cooperated with Fairfield police during an internal investigation but there has been no meaningful response from the town or police since, Bowen said.
Fairfield Town Manager Michelle Flewelling and Police Chief Thomas Gould did not respond to requests for comment.
Moody was unarmed, had not committed a crime, was not an immediate physical threat and was not under arrest, the lawsuit said.
Kibbe put handcuffs on Moody that were excessively tight and caused significant pain, leading Moody to complain, the lawsuit said. Kibbe drew his stun gun and threatened Moody with it.
When Kibbe parked the cruiser at the hospital, Moody was handcuffed and lying face down across the rear seat of the cruiser. After the cruiser’s back door was opened, Moody put his foot near it to prevent it from closing, while continuing to ask Kibbe to loosen the handcuffs.
Kibbe then drew and armed a stun gun before putting it against Moody’s chest, the lawsuit said. At that point Moody assumed the stun gun would hurt less than restraints and told Kibbe to use it, according to the lawsuit.
“With Fred lying down on the back seat of the cruiser, still handcuffed and unable to get out of the way, Officer Kibbe used all of his weight and intentionally slammed the door of the cruiser into [Moody’s] head so hard that he broke two of Fred’s vertebrae, gave [Moody] a concussion, and cut his head,” the lawsuit said.
Moody’s neck was fractured and he had to be transferred to a different hospital for surgery. He continues to have pain, the lawsuit said.
Fairfield had received numerous complaints about excessive force, including multiple complaints about Kibbe, the lawsuit said. There were enough that Fairfield should have known Kibbe was at risk of using inappropriate force, it said.