Michael Leonard sued the Town of Westborough, Police Chief Todd Minardi, and Officer Bodhan Bukhenik after his arrest on August 8, 2024, alleging constitutional violations including First Amendment retaliation, Fourth Amendment unlawful arrest and excessive force, along with state law claims for malicious prosecution, defamation, negligence, and harassment.
In his motion for summary judgment, Bukhenik argued there was probable cause for Leonard's arrest for disorderly conduct and other crimes when Leonard 'accosted officers during their active investigation, yelled profanities at them, and repeatedly encroached upon Officer Bukhenik's personal space after repeated commands to step back.' The officer also contended he 'did not use unreasonable force when interacting with the Plaintiff on scene.'
Bukhenik's legal team emphasized that even if the arrest was questionable, the officer deserves protection under qualified immunity doctrine. 'His actions did not violate the Plaintiff's constitutional rights because probable cause was 'at least arguable,' and the Plaintiff cannot meet his burden to provide binding legal authority to show that the law was clearly established in the specific factual context of this case,' the motion states.
The case appears to stem from Leonard's interaction with police during what Bukhenik described as an 'active investigation,' though the underlying circumstances of that investigation are not detailed in the motion. Leonard is proceeding pro se in the litigation, meaning he is representing himself without an attorney.
The officer's motion argues Leonard cannot overcome the various immunity defenses available to police officers. Beyond qualified immunity for the constitutional claims, Bukhenik asserted common law immunity protects him because 'there is no evidence in the summary judgment record from which a reasonable jury could infer that Officer Bukhenik acted in bad faith, with malice, or corruptly towards the Plaintiff.'
This case represents a typical Section 1983 civil rights lawsuit against police, where officers frequently prevail by demonstrating probable cause for arrest and invoking qualified immunity. The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials from liability unless they violated clearly established law that a reasonable person would have known.
The motion indicates defense counsel attempted to confer with Leonard in good faith to resolve or narrow the issues but were unsuccessful. No hearing date has been set for the summary judgment motion, and Leonard has not yet filed his opposition papers responding to Bukhenik's arguments.