Assault Victim Felt “Victimized” by Cops

Michael Farrington said a police officer seemed uninterested in helping find the suspects.

New Haven police have an arrest warrant in connection with an attack near the New Haven Green, but the victim said he is not pleased with the way he was treated by police.

Michael Farrington was beaten in downtown New Haven on March 18. He was walking down College Street around 2 a.m. and exchanged words with a group of people.

“I got thrown from my shoulders to the ground. One held my arm and they started kicking my head and other various places on my body,” said Farrington.

Two bystanders from Occupy New Haven rushed into help. One chased off the attackers and took down the license plate of one car a suspect was driving. Another stayed with Farrington and called 911.

An ambulance crew and firefighters showed up, but there were no police because another 911 caller had given dispatchers the wrong address. It wasn't until after Farrington was released from the hospital that a police officer finally interviewed him.

“He just seemed uninterested. He said that the license plate only tells him that criminals are in the vehicle and that is no use for him. And for anything to be done like a warrant or an arrest, I need to find the names of my attackers as well as their birthdays,” said Farrington.

Farrington reached out to police again the next day, but says he got the runaround.

“I felt shafted when I got beat up, but the reaction from the New Haven Police Department, that violated me. That made me feel more victimized than I already had,” said Farrington.

It took almost a week before he was contacted by the officer again.

“He was very interested, very apologetic about how he came off in the hospital which was apparently not his intention,” said Farrington.

Contact Us