Lack of training, excessive force alleged in New Hope police lawsuit

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A 40-year-old Pipersville man is suing the former New Hope police officer who shot and injured him two years ago, after confusing his Taser with his service weapon.

Brian Riling, who was unarmed when he was shot following a brief scuffle in the New Hope Police Department holding cell on March 3, 2019, also is suing the borough, alleging officials failed to properly train and supervise its police officers.

Riling claims that retired New Hope Police Cpl. Matthew Zimmerman "unreasonably used deadly force,” violating his constitutional rights, according to the civil suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

This news organization was not immediately successful in reaching attorneys David Macmain, who represent the borough. Attorney Joseph Santarone Jr. who represent Zimmerman declined comment, but said he would be filing an answer to the complaint this week.

The police-involved shooting garnered national attention after Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub ruled it was not justified, but excused, citing the officer’s “honest but mistaken” belief that he was deploying his Taser at the time he fired.

Zimmerman retired from the police department days before Weintraub released his shooting determination.

In his suit, Riling claims police used excessive force, event though he was not a physical threat to any officer when the shooting occurred.

New Hope police arrested Riling earlier in the evening after he confronted his estranged girlfriend outside her workplace, assaulted and threatened her.

He was taken to the police station where he was processed and placed in the department’s holding cell. During that time, Riling attempted to retrieve an unidentified white packet that fell after he removed his belt in the cell.

In his lawsuit, Riling claims he was trying to pick up the packet, when an unidentified New Hope police officer pushed him backwards onto a concrete bench and put him in a chokehold.

Surveillance video of the shooting shows Riling step on the packet after it falls. The unidentified officer then pushes Riling onto the concrete bench. A struggle ensued between the two men and Riling is heard saying, “That’s not mine.”

Seconds later after the struggle started, Zimmerman enters the cell and yells “Taser alert” before pulling out his service weapon and firing, hitting Riling in the abdomen.

The bullet tore tore through Riling’s small intestines and fractured his pelvis, according to the lawsuit. He underwent two surgeries, suffered a collapsed lung, and part of his bowel was removed. After he was released, Riling returned to the hospital due to wound complications.

New Hope Police Chief Michael Cummings
The suit alleges borough police Chief Michael Cummings and the force’s Taser training failed to follow department policy, which required training records to be forwarded to the chief and placed in the officer’s training files. Neither Cummings nor the Taser trainer is named as defendants in the suit.

The lawsuit also alleges that Zimmerman’s use of “unreasonable” force was the result of the borough’s “deliberate indifference in failing to train, supervise or discipline officers who engage in this conduct.”

An investigation by this news organization found that Zimmerman — and most of the New Hope police officers at the time — had outdated Taser certifications, a violation of the department’s 2007 Taser directive, part of its use-of-force policy.