How Harper’s civil rights lawsuit could impact police accountability in New Rochelle and beyond

On July 13, Ivin Harper, who was arrested on false drug charges after then-NRPD Lt. Sean Kane planted drugs under his car in April 2024, sued the City of New Rochelle and others for denial of his civil and constitutional rights.  

The federal lawsuit alleges that the attempt to frame Harper occurred because “the City of New Rochelle, through its police department, perpetuated a culture of rewarding officers for their improper, illegal, and unconstitutional conduct.”  The full complaint can be read here. 

The suit seeks monetary damages to compensate Harper for “false imprisonment, psychological and emotional distress, and other financial loss,” and punitive damages “to deter such intentional or reckless deviations from well-settled constitutional law” in the future.

The complaint also seeks “injunctive relief,” which could presumably include court-ordered reforms to NRPD policies and procedures, such as requirements for improved training or greater disciplinary consequences for official misconduct in the future.

This lawsuit may have important implications for New Rochelle and beyond.  To better understand the suit’s significance, New RoAR News asked Harper’s lead attorney, David N. Fisher, to answer some questions by email.  Fisher is a founding partner in Fisher and Byrialsen, PLLC, a Denver-based law firm with a long record of successful civil rights litigation, including a settlement for over $12 million for Korey Wise, who was falsely convicted in the 1989 Central Park jogger case and was exonerated after spending 14 years in prison.

Ivin Harper (Credit: Frank Becerra, Jr., The Journal News)

New RoAR News:  Why was this case selected for litigation?  Was the video evidence an important factor?  What about the NRPD’s pattern of impunity for serious violations?  Is this kind of pattern of impunity unusual in small-city police departments?  Were there other considerations?

David Fisher:  We took this case because a police lieutenant planted drugs on Ivin Harper and the incident was caught on the lieutenant’s own body camera. Ivin had done nothing wrong. His life was turned upside down. And the officer who did this to him has no excuse and no answer for what that video shows.

NRN:  Based on experience in other jurisdictions, what kind of injunctive relief might be possible to interrupt the culture of abuse and impunity in New Rochelle?  Would such relief depend on the existence of a Justice Department interested in enforcing civil rights law?

DF:  We intend to pursue several reforms beyond monetary damages. New Rochelle needs meaningful changes to how it trains officers on body camera use and evidence handling, how it conducts internal affairs investigations, and how it disciplines officers who violate the law and departmental policy. We also believe the City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board—which was supposed to provide independent civilian oversight but has never held a single meeting—needs to be fully operational and genuinely independent. The culture at NRPD will not change on its own. That is part of what this case is about.

NRN:  Might this case have implications beyond New Rochelle?

DF:  This case has implications far beyond New Rochelle. What happened to Ivin Harper has been happening to people all over this country for decades. The difference here is that it was caught on tape. In our experience, the only thing that has changed is the cameras — not the conduct. Body cameras and cell phone video have exposed what was always there. We hope the outcome of this case sends a clear message to every officer who believes they can plant evidence, fabricate charges, and destroy an innocent person’s life without consequence. That era needs to end.

NRN:  We are aware that if not for the video evidence, Ivin might be sitting in prison now, and we wonder if others have been convicted on similarly fabricated evidence, either by Sean Kane or by others in the NRPD.  Is there any way to investigate this and seek relief for others who may have been convicted on similarly tainted evidence?

DF:  That question is central to our case. The way Lieutenant Kane coordinated with a civilian to plant these drugs looked practiced—like something that had been done before. It was seamless. It did not look like the first time. A significant part of our litigation will be devoted to uncovering every other case in which Sean Kane may have planted drugs or fabricated evidence, whether with this same civilian or others. We intend to pursue that aggressively through discovery. If there are other victims out there—and we believe there may be—we want to find them.