Man notifies East Lyme he plans to sue detective, police over 'false arrest' involving teen girl
East Lyme — Stephen Nicholson, the man arrested and jailed by East Lyme police on assault, kidnapping and stalking charges but later released because of a flawed police investigation, notified the town Monday he's planning a lawsuit.
Lawyers for Nicholson allege police detective Mark Comeau, who was originally the lead investigator, manufactured the criminal case against Nicholson because Comeau was infatuated with the alleged teenage victim, Claire Killin. It further alleges he later helped her hide evidence when the case was being re-investigated.
The notice of intent to sue was filed Monday by the New London-based Strafaci Law Firm and targets not only Comeau, but the town, the police department and the Board of Police Commissioners. Attorney Joe Strafaci said evidence that will be provided in an upcoming lawsuit will reveal multiple levels of police misconduct and violations of trust."
Nicholson, 35, was arrested in March 2024 and faced 11 criminal charges, including felony kidnapping, for allegedly threatening, stalking and assaulting Killin, who was his former co-worker at Dunkin in East Lyme. Nicholson was held on a $250,000 bond and spent 49 days in jail before his defense attorney, Michael Miller, raised questions about the credibility of the investigation.
In addition to a personal relationship between Comeau and Killin, who used to be neighbors in The Orchards neighborhood in East Lyme, Strafaci said some of the allegations that led to Nicholson's arrest were simply untrue.
Killin on Monday said she continued to be shocked by the allegations of an inappropriate relationship with Comeau and said aside from being neighbors, the relationship was always professional. She focused on her fears of Nicholson.
"There was no personal relationship. He spoke to me as a detective on this case and did his duties as an officer," Killin said. "They're turning it into something it's not."
State prosecutors dropped their prosecution of Nicholson last November.
New London Superior Court Judge John Newson, in court, referred to it as a "troubling case in that certain people did not do their job and honor the trust we should have in them."
The dropped charges led the Board of Police Commissioners to hire an outside investigator to probe the handling of the case. That investigation by the Daigle Law Group, the same law firm investigating East Lyme Police Chief Michael Finkelstein and the circumstances of how the department handled multiple allegations of domestic violence by Finkelstein's wife, is ongoing.
Strafaci said he continues to gather evidence that shows Nicholson was the victim of a "targeted campaign, initiated and perpetrated by Detective Mark Comeau and member(s) of the East Lyme Police Department with the assistance of private parties, including Killin, to falsely arrest and charge him for serious felony crimes..."
Calls and late night visits
In addition to an undisclosed "inappropriate" relationship between Comeau and Killin, Strafaci said there were numerous phone calls between the two and that Killin would also make late night visits to Comeau's home. After Comeau was pulled from the case, Strafaci alleges Comeau instructed Killin to buy a new phone to hide past interactions between the two and hide evidence. East Lyme police confirmed the case was re-assigned to another officer.
Killin, in an interview from her home in the United Kingdom on Monday, said she thinks some of the information about her visits come from a former landlord and are untrue.
"It's completely false — made up. They're trying to make something out of nothing," she said.
Killin also said that her phone was seized and analyzed as part of the investigation. By the time the new detective was assigned to the case, Killin said she had upgraded to a new phone but all of the information from her old phone remained.
Strafaci described Nicholson as a man with cognitive limitations who was vulnerable to being taken advantage of by Killin, who was his friend, and Comeau. Nicholson was buying Killin clothes and paying her bills, Strafaci said. Additionally, Strafaci said Nicholson has experienced gender dysphoria and spent a period of time identifying as a woman.
Strafaci said Comeau went out of his way, when preparing an arrest warrant, to include facts about Nicholson's gender identity seemingly to imply he was a sexual predator. He also made derogatory comments during his arrest, which is the reason, Strafaci said, that the impending lawsuit will focus on "intimidation based on bigotry and bias."
"There's multiple allegations in the arrest warrant that are inconsistent with forensic evidence — that and Comeau's apparent obsession with Stephen's gender identity is just bizarre," Strafaci said.
The motivation for targeting Nicholson was "Claire's desire for money and designer clothes/items and Det. Comeau's infatuation with Claire, as well as his personal animus towards Stephen," the notice alleges.
Killin said Nicholson's gender identity came into play during the investigation because Nicholson had worn some of the women's clothing she purchased using Nicholson's money. Killin said she has evidence that was turned over to police that shows Nicholson threatened her so she would buy certain items that he would then wear.
Strafaci said the purpose of the upcoming lawsuit, in addition to financial reimbursement, is Nicholson's desire to have what he called the "real story" become public.
"Stephen has been the victim of a false arrest, false allegations and because he's faced criminal charges, he's basically been unable to tell his side of the story. Part of this is to bring his story to light and bring about some justice for all of the wrongs that have been done to him over the course of a year, Strafaci said.
New York attorney Christopher Berlingieri, who represents Killin in a federal civil rights lawsuit against Dunkin, declined to comment. East Lyme First Selectman Dan Cunningham and Board of Police Commissioners Chairman Dan Price did not return calls seeking comment. Comeau could not be reached to comment.
g.smith@theday.com
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