Syracuse cop with checkered past sued again for brutality, this time by a retired jail doctor
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
Posted Dec 22, 2020
Mark Johnston, front, is filing a lawsuit against the Syracuse Police Department for alleged brutality. He claims officer Vallon Smith wrongly beat him up and broke his ribs last year on Mountain Goat Sunday after a dispute over a parking space. Behind him is attorney Jesse Ryder. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com
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Now, Smith faces another brutality lawsuit: this time, by a former doctor at the county lockup.
Dr. Mark Johnston, 65, of Syracuse, alleges that Smith needlessly punched and tackled him at last year’s Mountain Goat Run downtown. Johnston was the medical administrator for 10 years at the Jamesville penitentiary. Police have said Johnston was the initial aggressor and that Smith was coming to the aid of another officer.