Clinton Drone-Gun Creator Sues After Being Expelled From College

CLINTON, CT — Austin Haughwout, 19, was recently expelled from Central Connecticut State University and is now suing the college, alleging he was expelled without due process of law and in violation of the college's own procedures.

In the lawsuit, the teen claims he was unjustly expelled from college after he created an unmanned drone that discharged a firearm, which garnered significant media attention both in Connecticut and beyond. School officials falsely claimed he threatened another student and indicated he would “shoot up” the school, the lawsuit alleges.

He is seeking more than $15,000 in damages, according to a lawsuit filed in New Britain Superior Court on Monday, March 7. Haughwout, of 7 Egypt Lane, Clinton, is represented by Attorney Jon Schoenhorn of Jon L. Schoenhorn & Associates.

The former student filed a lawsuit against defendants Laura Tordenti, Densil Samuda, Christopher Dukes and Ramon Hernandez, citing his expulsion from Central Connecticut State University.

Tordenti is the vice-president for student affairs at CCSU. Hernandez is the associate dean for student affairs for CCSU and acts under the direction of Tordenti.

Samuda is a detective within CCSU’s Police Department. Dukes is the university judicial director within the Office of Student Conduct for CCSU.

The Details of the Lawsuit

Haughwout was a full-time undergraduate student at CCSU of New Britain. Around August 4, 2015, CCSU Provost Carl Lovitt received a letter from Alfred Gates, a professor within the Department of Engineering at CCSU, referencing a possible expulsion of Haughwout. According to the lawsuit, Haughwout had never met Gates and was not a student in any of his classes.

In the letter, Gates mentioned media reports on Haughwout’s construction and decision of an unmanned aircraft system that discharged a firearm while in flight.

“Although there was nothing illegal about plaintiff’s invention, Gates accused the plaintiff of ‘immoral and extremely dangerous’ activity by creating the UAS and speculated that plaintiff could involve other students and use of facilities within CCSU’s Engineering Department,” the lawsuit stated.

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Lovitt shared the content of Gates’ letter with one or more of the defendants, prior to the start of any disciplinary proceedings. The defendants named in the lawsuit are:

Detective Samuda prepared a case/incident report around Sept. 22, 2015, that “falsely accused the plaintiff of engaging in threatening behavior and targeting a student,” the lawsuit stated.

Around that same time, Samuda met with Haughwout at CCSU Police Headquarters and verbally informed him that an individual, whom he reportedly refused to identify, accused Haughwout of threatening to “shoot up” the school.

Haughwout denied saying that to anyone and Samuda reportedly refused to tell the Haughwout where and when he was alleged to have made this threat, or to whom it was allegedly directed, the lawsuit noted. Haughwout alleges that Samuda initiated baseless claims of misconduct against him.

Arrest Warrant Rejected; “No Probable Cause”

Samuda submitted an arrest warrant and affidavit to New Britain Superior Court, alleging that Haughwout engaged in threatening behavior. The state’s attorney for the New Britain Judicial District rejected the warrant and told Samuda that there was no probable cause that any crime was committed.

“Despite this rebuff, Samuda took it upon himself to target the plaintiff and seek his expulsion from CCSU, and to enlist the remaining defendants in a conspiracy to achieve this result,” the lawsuit alleges.

What the CCSU Student Code of Conduct Says

According to CCSU’s Student Code of Conduct, students accused of violation must be informed of the place where the alleged incident occurred and the approximate time. Haughwout stated in the lawsuit that he was not informed of the time or place when alleged violations occurred.

In October 2015, Associate Dean of Student Affairs Hernandez sent a letter to Haughwout, informing him he was placed on immediate interim suspension from CCSU.

The lawsuit states that Hernandez gave no indication as to what behavior resulted in Haughwout’s suspension. Because of this, Haughwout is alleging his student rights were violated.

An Oct. 14, 2015, a hearing took place and the school alleged violations of the CCSU Student Code of Conduct from the following sections:

• Physical assault, intimidation, threatening behavior
• Harassment
• Disorderly Conduct
• Offensive or disorderly conduct

The school alleges that Haughwout engaged in the following inappropriate conduct:

• Talked about weapons
• Discussed attacks on the University
• Made references to others as a target
• Made gestures with his hands indicating that he is aiming and shooting at individuals

Haughwout said he repeatedly requested documentation or information from the defendants to support the allegations against him but failed to receive any.

“No witnesses were called by defendants to testify against the plaintiff,” according to the lawsuit. “There were no university officials present at the hearing, other than defendant Dukes. At the hearing, plaintiff denied each and every allegation made by the defendants, and no evidence was submitted to support any of the allegations.”

Haughwout stated in the lawsuit that he was provided a copy of the incident report at the hearing and therefore was not given time to review it or call witnesses on his behalf.

“The defendants presented no witnesses against the plaintiff to substantiate any accusation,” according to the lawsuit. “Rather, defendant Dukes falsely suggested at the hearing [that] witnesses were afraid to appear.”

Haughwout’s Expulsion

On Oct. 19, 2015, Haughwout was informed of his expulsion from CCSU. He appealed the expulsion, citing that the allegations against him were constitutionally protected and not a basis for discipline. He also said he had new evidence pertaining to the case.

Defendant Tordenti referred the appeal to defendant Hernandez, who denied said appeal.

“The defendants failed to offer a modicum of evidence to support the allegations, resulting in a denial of fundamental fairness, notice and the right to contest charges, and wilfully made false and misleading representations to the plaintiff concerning the nature and substance of any accusations, so as to preclude his ability to meet and respond to the charges,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit states that the defendant’s actions have caused Haughwout irreparable harm. He is seeking to be reinstated to CCSU as a student in good standing and see the findings of misconduct be expunged. The university could not be reached for comment.

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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Inside Edition