An Ohio man has just filed a lawsuit against the city of East Cleveland, the city's police chief, a detective and an officer for alleged false imprisonment and other forms of mistreatment by law enforcement, according to a UPI article. The lawsuit, which was filed on May 1, 2014 in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, asks for $3 million in damages for the incident that is said to have occurred in April 2012. According to the man's allegations, he was beaten by an intoxicated detective, held for days in a storage closet and fraudulently arrested for possession of cocaine. In addition to false imprisonment, the plaintiff is also suing the defendants for battery, civil conspiracy and malicious persecution.
According to UPI, the plaintiff alleges that he was pulled over by the officer and the detective due to the fact that his vehicle was believed to have matched the description of another vehicle that reportedly had drugs inside. In the plaintiff's account of what happened, the detective—who is said to have been drunk—told the man that now that they had pulled him over, it would be clear that a green truck was stopped and that now "they" were not going to pass through his city. The man said the detective told him that he had ruined the detective's night, as he had been at a bar with his friends.
The plaintiff said that he was next brought to a room that appeared to be a storage area, where he was kept for a minimum of two days with accommodations that were extremely limited. The man said that he had to urinate in a locker due to the fact that he did not have access to a toilet. While the plaintiff did end up being charged with cocaine possession, he obtained a favorable outcome to his case—a case dismissal in July 2012.
This is just one example of the many claims and lawsuits that are filed based on alleged misconduct by law enforcement. Our firm, The Moore Law Firm, handles various types of personal injury cases, including those involving claims of excessive use of force by police and other unlawful actions by law enforcement. Law enforcement officers have protocols they must abide by so that they do not violate the Constitutional rights of the people they stop, arrest and detain. When they violate these protocols and abuse their positions of power, they must be held accountable for their actions.
If you have been treated unlawfully by an officer or law enforcement agency, do not hesitate to speak with a Cincinnati personal injury lawyer from our firm. Contact us so we can assist you with your claim or lawsuit!
If you have been injured or have lost a loved one as a result of another person's negligence, you deserve to be fully compensated for your losses. The simple fact is that you should not be forced to pay the price for another person's careless or reckless actions.