File: James Buck
A Burlington police cruiser
Updated on September 17, 2024.
The City of Burlington has paid a local man $215,000 to settle an excessive force lawsuit he filed more than five years ago.
The city approved the agreement with Mabior Jok, 40, late last month, according to his attorney, Robb Spensley.
The city's insurer paid out $140,000; the remaining $75,000 was covered by its liability insurance reserve fund, which now has a balance of $675,000, officials said.
The council's Board of Finance is expected to ratify the agreement at its meeting on Monday.
Spensley said the payout is “life-changing money” for Jok. A former child soldier and refugee from South Sudan, Jok has been intermittently homeless living in Burlington, Spensley said.
“I’m very pleased that Mabior has this money to help him in his life,” he said. “It was frustrating that it took five years to get this, but I’m definitely pleased with the outcome. I know Mabior is happy and feeling much more safe and secure.”
In a statement Tuesday, Mulvaney-Stanak said she hopes the case's resolution "provides some measure of relief" for Jok. She also committed to scrutinize uses of force by police officers.
"The City must approach every instance where force is used as an opportunity to review what happened," she said, "and ensure our police department training, practices, and policies emphasize de-escalation, minimal reliance on using force, and effective communication."
Members of the Burlington Police Officers' Association did not respond to an interview request.
The Jok case was one of a pair of lawsuits
alleging police brutality filed in U.S. District Court by Black residents in 2019. The other was from three Congolese brothers, one of whom suffered lasting brain damage after Burlington cops shoved him to the ground outside a bar in September 2018. The city settled with Jérémie, Charlie and Albin Meli last year for $750,000.
Jok’s
incident took place the night before the Melis’ encounter with police. Body camera footage showed Officer Joseph Corrow approach a circle of people, with Jok standing in the center. As Jok turned toward the officer, Corrow extended his arms and pulled Jok to the ground, knocking him unconscious.
In an affidavit supporting charges of disorderly conduct, Corrow wrote that he'd seen Jok punch another man and was afraid of being assaulted himself. The Chittenden County State's Attorney's Office later dropped the charges against Jok.
At the time, former police chief Brandon del Pozo said he didn’t discipline Corrow because the officer had been trying to break up a fight. Besides the city, Jok’s lawsuit named both del Pozo and Corrow as defendants.
Corrow and two officers involved in the Meli case were the focus of prolonged racial justice protests in 2020. One of the officers, Jason Bellavance, took a $300,000 buyout to leave Burlington PD.
Calls for greater police accountability persist. A Progressive-led effort to create an “independent community control board,” with the power to hire and fire officers, failed in late 2020 when former mayor Miro Weinberger vetoed the measure. The proposal was resurrected in 2023 but was defeated by voters. Burlington will vote on a new model, which seeks to empower the city’s existing police commission, on November 5.
Meantime, another excessive force lawsuit is pending in Vermont Superior Court. The mother of a Black teen with developmental disabilities
sued Burlington police earlier this year, saying officers used excessive force when they pinned him to his bed to retrieve a stolen e-cigarette in 2021.
And while Jok's lawsuit has been resolved, his legal troubles aren't over. Jok is facing four felony charges for allegedly choking and threatening to kill a woman with a knife at the South Burlington Travelodge in April. He'll be arraigned later this week for violating court-ordered conditions of release related to that case.
Derek Brouwer contributed reporting.