MANSFIELD — A 67-year-old Mansfield man has filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the City of Mansfield and two police officers, claiming his Constitutional rights were violated during his arrest on April 22.
Cleveland attorneys for Charles “Chip” Roberts filed the 16-page lawsuit on Wednesday, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the U.S. Northern District Court’s Eastern Division.
The lawsuit, filed by attorneys Nicholas DiCello and Kevin Hulick with the firm of Spangenberg, Shibley & Liber, identifies MPD officers Michael Nelson and Noah Waterer for their specific roles in the incident.
A demand for a jury trial is included in the complaint.
The complaint claims Roberts was “assaulted, battered, subjected to excessive force, falsely arrested subjected to an illegal search, subjected to a malicious prosecution, and subjected to the intentional infliction of emotional distress by Mansfield law enforcement officers.”
(Below is a PDF file with the federal lawsuit Mansfield resident Charles Roberts filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland.)
In the complaint, attorneys said Roberts went from his Bowman Street home shortly after midnight to a nearby car wash to buy a soda from an outside vending machine and crossed the street in the process, allegedly jaywalking.
As Nelson approached Roberts, the plaintiff “stood with his hands at his side” at the vending machines, according to the complaint.
The attorneys said Nelson, “without basis,” ordered Roberts to turn around and put his hands on the vending machine.
“(Nelson) had no basis to frisk (Roberts),” according to the complaint. “(Roberts) was suspected of jaywalking, a misdemeanor for which arrest is only permitted in limited circumstances, none of which were present. And there was no information to suggest or objectively reasonable suspicion that (Roberts) was armed or otherwise dangerous.”
The complaint said Waterer arrived on the scene during the conversation between Roberts and Nelson. The complaint alleged Nelson grabbed Roberts, spun him around and put him against a vending machine.
“Rather than stopping (Nelson) to protect (Roberts), Defendant Waterer also put his hands on Roberts while he was pressed up against the (vending) machine,” the complaint said.
The complaint alleged “within seconds of putting (Roberts) against the machine, (Nelson) turned (him) and slammed him to the ground as (Waterer) watched.”
The complaint alleged at least six other police officers arrived on the scene after Roberts was handcuffed and seated, “crying out in pain and asking the officers to stop.”
The complaint alleged Roberts was taken to a local hospital, “where it was found that he had suffered fractures to multiple ribs. Some of his fractures were so severe that medical care providers considered plating the ribs. (Roberts) remained in the hospital until May 3.”
The complaint also said Nelson, 27, is a professional boxer who has competed inside and outside the United States.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, including medical bills; punitive damages “that will serve to adequately punish and deter the acts and omissions of (Nelson and Waterer);” attorneys’ fees and “all other such relief to which the plaintiff is entitled and/or the court deems equitable.”
Mansfield police Chief Jason Bammann said Aug. 28 that the MPD conducted an internal review of the incident, including the camera footage and witness statements.
“I determined that Officer Nelson’s actions were consistent with the training and protocols provided to all officers of the Mansfield Division of Police. The use of force in this incident, I deemed appropriate given the circumstances and in full alignment with established policies and procedures,” Bammann said in a statement.
Bammann emphasized the use of force was not a response to the offense of jaywalking — rather, it was a direct result of Mr. Roberts’ actions during the encounter.
“To describe the incident as ‘body-slammed for jaywalking’ is inaccurate and misleading, as it fails to reflect the reality of the situation and instead creates an exaggerated narrative,” Bammann said.
“The escalation occurred solely because of Mr. Roberts’ resistance to lawful commands. Compliance with those commands would have prevented the necessity of any physical intervention.”
Bammann said Roberts created a “dangerous situation” for the officer when he put his hands into his pockets.
“Our officers are out, proactively policing. At 1:30 in the morning, you don’t know … the gentlemen could have been out committing burglaries or some kind of other crime,” he told Richland Source.
“The officer was 110 percent in the right to conduct a pat-down for officer safety. If you watch the video, you see the way Mr. Roberts reacts didn’t allow for that.”
Roberts also has the right to take his complaint to the City of Mansfield’s civilian Police Review and Community-Police Relations Commission.
The commission assesses police internal investigations to determine if the probes were “thorough, accurate, credible and impartial.”
The commission, which has no current authority to conduct its own investigations, can also make recommendations to the mayor and police chief on how to improve the public and the department.
The commission in its current form is defined in Section 175 of the city’s codified ordinances and can be read here.
According to the statute, the commission is to “study and review those functions of the Division of Police investigations process consistent with the purpose and intent for which it was created; provided, however, that the Commission has no authority to conduct its own investigations, call or subpoena witnesses or impose disciplinary action against any police employees.”