2016-02-16 Complaint

7/24/2019 2016-02-16 Complaint

1/11

IL H BYRD

CUY HOG COU TY

CUERK

OF

COURTS

00 OntarioStreet

Cleveland,Ohio44 3

Courtof Common Pleas

ewCaseElectronicallyFiled:

February

16 ,

201609:06

By:PETER G.PATTAKOS008 884

ConfirmationNbr.670793

JESSICA

FERRATO

6

8590 6

vs

JONATHAN

PACHOLKE,

ET

AL.

Judge:

MICHAELE.

JACKSON

Pages

Filed:

0

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Filed

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IN

THE

URT

F MM N

PLEA

UYAH GA

C UNTY,

HI

JESSICA

FERRAT

547

Rosewood

Avenue

Lakewood,

Ohio

44 07

Plaintiff,

vs.

J NATHAN

PA H LKE

In bothhisofficialand

personalcapacities

2 5

West

3rd

Street

Cleveland,

Ohio

44 3

and

GREATERCLEVELANDREGI NAL

TRAN IT

AUTH RITY

2 5West

3rd

Street

Cleveland,Ohio 44 3

Defendants.

C

plaintwith

ury

De and

Case

No.

Jud

ge

_ _

ature f

the

cti n

.

Thisis a

civil-rights

action

brought under

42

U.S.C.

983

and

985(3).It alsoasserts

state-lawcauses

of

action.

Plaintiff

Jessica

Ferrato

alleges

that

RTA

police

officer

Jonathan

Pacholke

violated

the

Fourth

Amendment

of

the

United

States

Constitution

by

unlawfully

arresting herandusingexcessiveforceagainst

her

withoutjustcause,causing

her

physicaland

emotionalinjuriesand distress.

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. WhileDefendant

Pacholke

was actinginthescopeof his

employment with

theCuyahoga

County

Regional

Transit

Authority and

under

color

of

state

law,

he

unlawfullyarrested

and

assaulted

Ms.

Ferratoasshe

was

exiting

the

A

s

West 7th

Street

Madison

AvenueRapid

Station

on

March

29,

0 5.

This

unlawfularrestandassaultdirectlyand

proximatelycaused

Ms.

Ferratosinjuries.Asaresultof thisincident,the AissuedapublicapologyforOfficer

Pacholke s conductand suspendedhisemployment beforeplacinghim onayear-long probation

forviola[ting]departmental proceduresandfail[ing]tocontrolthesituationthatled

toan

escalation

of

the

incident

and

a

use

of

force,

which

may

have

been

avoided.

. rt es

3.

PlaintiffJessica

Ferrato

resides

in

Lakewood,

Ohio.

4.

Defendant

Jonathan

Pacholke

was

a

policeofficer

for

the

RTA.

At

al l

timesrelevant

to

this

Complaint

sallegations,

he

was

acting

inhis

capacity

as

a

police

officer

employed

by

A

andwas

acting

undercolor

of state

law.

5. Defendant

A

is legally

responsiblefor

Defendant

Pacholke sconduct

as

to

Ferratos

statelaw

claimsfor

batteryandfalsearrest,as

this

conduct

was

committed in

the

course

and

scopeof Pacholke s employment with

A

in

performanceof a

proprietaryfunctionunder

R.C.

2744.02.

.

urisdicti n nd enue

6.

This

Court

has

personal

jurisdiction

over

Defendants

under

R.C.

2305.0 .

7.

Venue

is

proper

inthis

Court

under

Civ.R.3(B)(3)

because

the

events

giving

rise

to

Plaintiffs claims

took

place

in

Cuyahoga County,Ohio.

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V

Factua

ackgr und

8.

Late

on

thenightof

March

29,

0 5, Ferrato

was

returning

home

on

an A

passenger

trainfrom

theCleveland

International

Film

Festival

s

closing

ceremonies.

Justbeforemidnight,

sheexited

thetrainat

the A

s

West 7th

Street

Madison

AvenueRapidStation

in

Cleveland

nearthe Lakewoodborder.

9. Assheexitedthe stationthroughtheoutervestibuledoorintothe parkinglot,Officer

Pacholke wasstanding inthe

vestibule

arguingwithafemalepassenger.AsFerratowalkedby,

Pacholke

interrupted

his

interaction

with

the

other

passenger

to

ask

Ferrato

to

see

her

bus

pass.

0. Ms.

Ferrato

said

in

response,

Bus?

I

just

got

off

the

train,as

she

reachedfor

the

pass

thatwas

in

her

pocket.

Pacholke

then

asked

again

to

see

Ferrato

s

buspass.

Ferrato

had already

pulled

the pass

outof

her

pocket,

andshowedhim

her

passasshe

walkedaway.

Pacholke

could

clearlysee

that

her

pass

was

valid.

.

But

Officer

Pacholke then

asked

yet

again,inan aggressiveand threateningmanner,to

see

Ferrato

spass.

She

had

alreadywalkedpast

him

at

this

point

and

was

outsideof

the building

in

the

parking

lot,sosheturned

around

toshow

it

tohimagain,holding

the

pass

within

approximately

two

feetof himsothathe could,again,clearlyseethatit was

valid.

2.

As

Ferratoagain

began

to

walk

away,Pacholke ran

in

front

of herto

block

herpath,and

told

her

tostopand

return

to

him.

Ferrato

then

askedhim

why,and

he

said

somethingto

the

effect

of,

you

have

to

do

what

I

say.

Ferrato

then

pulled

out

her

A

pass

again,

and

held

it

withininches

of

Pacholke

s

face,explainingtohim,

correctly,

that

she

had

repeatedly

showed

him herpass,

and

that

it

was

a

valid

all-day

pass

that

shehad purchased

that

morning.

Pacholke

then

closed

in

on

Ferrato,

and

told

heragain

that

she

had

to

do

what

he

said,

to

which

she

repliedthathe

was

exceeding

his

authority,

that

he

needed

to

leaveher

alone,

that

she

d

already

shown

him

her

pass,

and

that

he had

no

right

todetain

her.

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3. As

Ferrato

agai

triedto

walk

past

Pacholke

towards

her

car,

Pacholke

ordered

her

to

turnarou d,threate ed

to

taze

her,

a d

ordered

her

to

give

him

her

ha ds.

Ferrato

the

attemptedto

turno her

pho e s

video

camera

torecord

the interaction,at

which

point

Pacholke

slapped

the

pho e

out

of

her

ha d.

As

Ferrato

attempted

to

pick

the

pho e up,

Pacholke k ocked

her

tothegrou d,shoved

her

faceinthedirt,a dthreate edtopepperspray

her.

4.

Pacholke the calledfor

backup

ashe co ti ued

to

pushFerratosfaceinthedirta d

secured

her

body

to

the

grou d.

pulled

Ferrato

s

arms

behi d

her

back,

used

a

knife

to

cut

thestrapof herpursetoremovethe pursefrom herpossession,a dco ti uedtoholdhertothe

grou d

by

pushi g

his

k ees

o to

her

back

as

three

other

officersarrived

at

thescene.

e

of the

officers

the ha dcuffedFerrato,

who stated

that

shewa ted

to

be

booked,take to

the

police

station,a dgiventhe

opportu ity

tospeakwith

alawyer.

Ferrato

was

terrified

throughout

this

experience,

a d

in

physical

pain.

5.

Eventually,o eof

theofficers

removed

the

other

officers

who

were

o

top

of

Ferrato,

pulled

up herpa tsa d

u derwear,whichhadcome dow duri g

theassault

exposi g

her

buttocks,a descorted

her

tothebackseatof apolicecruiser.The

three

officers

who arrivedo

the

scene

the

asked

Pacholke

to

explain

to

them

what

happe ed,a d Pacholke

proceeded

to

comply.

6.

e

of

the

officers

the

asked

Ferrato

to

explain

what

happe ed,

a d

she

told

him

a d

o eof

the other

officers

who

had

arrived

atthescene.

The

officers

the tooksome additional

i formatio from

Ferrato

tof ll outsome

paperwork,a dtwo

of them

drove

her

to

the A

police

headquarters.

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7. Ferrato

continuallypleadedwith

these

officers

as

tothe unlawfulness

of

her

arrest

and

as

they

arrivedat

R A

police

headquarters

Ferrato

was

given

theopportunity

to

tell

two

more

officers

what

had

transpired.Pacholke

was

notpresent

at

thistime.

8.

After

these

officersdiscussed

Ferrato

s situation,oneof

them

explainedthat

they

would

drop

resistingarrest

andobstructioncharges,

butthat

they

would

cite

her

for

DisorderlyConduct

whileIntoxicated,which,theyadvised,shecouldfightincourt.Healsoexplainedthatinsteadof

booking

Ferratoandkeepingher

injail,theywouldciteher,

drive

herhome,andreleaseher,

which

they

proceeded

to

do.

9. Atnopointduringthisincidentwas Ferratointoxicated.At no

point

duringthisincident

didFerrato

appearto

be

intoxicated,

or

behave

in

amanner

thatwould

havecaused

any

person

tobelieve

that

she

wasintoxicated.

At no point

during

this

incident

did

Ferrato

engage

in

conduct

prohibited

by

R.C.

29 7. .

Atnopoint

duringthisincident

didFerrato

engage

in

conduct

thatwould

havegivenany

reasonable

personprobablecause

tobelieve

that

she

was

engaging

in

conduct prohibited

by

R.C.

29 7. .

At

no

pointduring

thisincident

did

Ferrato

engageinconduct

thatwould

havegiven

any

reasonable

personprobable

cause

tobelievethat

shewascommitting

or

about

tocommit

any

crime.

20.

April

8, 0 5, the

R A

sChief of

Police,

JohnP.

Joyce,wrotea

letter

to

Ferrato

in

which

he

statedthat: As

a

result

of

ourinternalinvestigation,

your

citationforDisorderly

Conduct/Intoxication

was

not

forwarded

to

the

court

and

no

further

action

regarding

this

citation

will

be

takenby

G R A

s Transit

Police

Department.

...you

will

notbe requiredto

appearin

court

on

thedesignated

date.Pleaseacceptmyapologyfortheofficersfailure

to

follow

departmental procedures.

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2 . As a

resultof thisincident,the

A

alsoissued

a

public

apology

forOfficer

Pacholke

s

co duc a d

suspe ded

his

employme before

placing

him

o a

year-long

proba io for

viola[ting]depar me al

procedures

a dfail[ing]

to

control

thesituation

that

led

toa

escalation

of

the incident

a da

use

of

force,

which

may

havebee

avoided.

22. Sincehavi gbee unlawfullyde ai eda dassaultedby Pacholke, Ferra os

ability

to

performa d e joyherusualactivitieshasbee impaired.

She

hassufferedsevereme ala d

emo io aldistress,includingPT Da drelatedanxietyasaresultof her

mistreatment.Her

me al

a d

emo io al

injuries

are

due

to

havi g

bee

terrorized

by

the

u lawful

detention

a d

assaultthatDefe da Pacholke perpetrated.

23.

As

adirect

a d

proxima eresult

of

Pacholke

sintentional

a d

reckless

acts,

Ferrato

sustainedphysicalpai a d

suffering,including

injuryto

her

eck

a dback.

24.

Ferrato

is

entitledtocompe sa orydamages

for

theharms

inflictedupo her.A d

she

is

entitled

topunitive

damagesfor

the

u co scio able

co duc

she

was

forcedto

e dureat

the

ha ds

of Pacholke,

as

wellasattorneys fees

a d

costs.

V

ai s

25. AllclaimsstatedagainstOfficerPacholke inhisofficialcapacityarethereforeasserted

against

bo h

the Aa d

Officer

Pacholke,personally,

for

actionscommi edin

the

course

a d

scope

of hisemployme wi h

RTA.

laim

Unreasonable

seizure

under

the

Fourth

mendment

and

42

U S 1983

(against

Pacholke

in

his

personal

capacity)

26.

Plaintiff

incorporates

the

previous

allegationsby reference.

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27. Wi h purposeor intent,actingu dercolorof

state

law,Defe da

Pacholke

unlawfully

arrested,

detained,

a d

seized

Ferra o

s

person.

reasonable

officer

would

o

have

initiated

the

seizure.Pacholke seized

Ferrato

wi hou

probable

cause

or

reasonable

eed

todoso.The

u lawful

seizure

wasobjectively

u reaso able

u der

theFour h

Ame dme .All

of these

actions

caused

damagetoFerrato.

28. Pacholke

acted

u dercolorof lawinhisofficialcapacity todeprive

Ferrato

of herright

tofreedomfromillegalseizureof herperson.Thisrightis securedtoher

by

the Four h

Ame dme

a d

was

clearly

established

as

of

March

29,

20 5.

29. As adirecta d proxima eresultof Pacholke su lawfulconduct,whichwasintentional

a d

showed

a

spirit

of

ill-will,

hatred,

a d

wa o disregard

of

Ferra o

s rights,

Ferrato

suffered

a dwill

co i ue

to

suffer

eco omica d

o -eco omic

damages

for which

Pacholke

is liable,

including,bu o limitedto,mental,

emotional,a dphysicalpai a d

suffering.

Ferrato

is

entitledtopunitive

damages

based

o

Defe da s

u lawful

conduct.

laim

2

Excessive use

of

force

under

the

Fourth

mendment

and

42

U S 1983

(againstPacholke in hispersonalcapacity)

30.

Plaintiffincorporates

al l

previous

allegationsby

reference.

3 .

Defe da Pacholke

used

excessive

force

against

Ferrato

to

terrorize

her.

Eve

if

Pacholke

s

arrest

of

Ferrato

was

reasonable

a d

lawful

(it

was

not),

a

reasonable

officer

would

o

have

used

the ki d

of force

that

Pacholke

used

againstFerratotodetain

her.Pacholkeused

a

grossly

u ecessary

amou

of force

to

detain

Ferrato,

whichwasshocki g

to

a

perso of

ordi ary

conscience

a d

unjustifiable

u derthe

circumstances.

The

amou of forceusedto

accomplish

the detention

wasclearlyexcessivea d

objectively

u reaso ableu der

the

Four h

Ame dme .

All

of

these

actionscaused

damage

to

Ferrato.

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32.

Pacholke

actedunder

colorof lawin

his

official

capacityto

depriveFerrato

of

her

rightto

freedomfromexcessive

force.

This

right

is

secured

to

her

by

the Fourth

Amendmentand

was

clearlyestablished

asof

March

29,

0 5.

33.

As

adirect

and proximate

result

of

Pacholke

sunlawful

conduct,

which

was

intentional

andshowedaspiritof ill-will,hatred,andwanton disregardof Ferratos

rights,

Ferratosuffered

andwillcontinuetosuffereconomic andnon-economic damagesfor whichPacholkeandthe

County

are liable,including,butnotlimited

to,mental,emotional,and physicalpainand

suffering.

34. Ferratois entitledtopunitivedamagesbasedon Defendants unlawfulconduct.

l im3

att ry

(againstPacholk

in

his

offici

ndp rsonal

capaciti s)

35.

Plaintiff

incorporates thepreviousallegationsby reference.

36.

Defendant

Pacholke

engaged

in

the

above-described

actions

intending

to

cause

the

harmfulcontactand

the harmfulcontactresulted.Pacholkeintended

totackleFerratotothe

ground,forcefullypinhertothe ground,pulldown herpantsandunderwear,twistherarms,and

handcuffher.

These

offensive

touchings

were

unlawful

and

unwanted.

37.

As

adirect

and

proximate

result

of

Pacholke

s

unlawful

conduct,

which

was

intentional

and

showed

a

spirit

of

ill-will,

hatred,

and

wanton disregard

of Ferrato

s rights,

Ferrato

suffered

and

will

continue

tosuffer

economic

and

non-economic

damages

for

which

Pacholke

is liable,

including,

butnotlimited

to,

mental,

emotional,

and

physical

painandsuffering.

38.

Ferrato

is entitled

to

punitivedamages

based

on Pacholke s

malicious

conduct.

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39. The Ais

legally

responsible

for

thisunlawfuland

malicious

conduct,committed

in

the

course

andscopeof Pacholke

s employment

with

A

inperformance

of a

proprietary function

under

R.C.2744.02.

l im4

False rrest

(againstPacholke in hisoffici ndpersonalcapacities)

40. Plaintiffincorporates

the

previous

allegations

by

reference.

4 .

Defendant

Pacholke

deprived

Ferrato

of

her

libertywithoutlawfuljustification.

42. As

adirect

and proximate

result

of

Pacholke

sunlawful

conduct,

Ferrato

suffered

and

will

continue

to

suffereconomic

and

non-economic

damagesfor

whichPacholke

is liable,

including,

but

not

limited

to,

mental,

emotional,and

physical

pain

andsuffering.

43. Ferrato

is entitled

to

punitive

damages

based

on

Pacholke

s

malicious

conduct.

44. The A

is

legallyresponsibleforthisunlawfuland maliciousconduct,committed inthe

course

and

scope

of

Pacholke

s

employment

with

A

in

performance

of

a

proprietary

function

under

R.C.2744.02.

V .

P

r yer

f r

e ef

For

the reasons

stated

above,Plaintiff

respectfully

requests

the

following

relieffromthe

Court:

A. Declare

thatDefendant

Pacholke

s acts

and

conduct

constitute

violations

of

the

FourthAmendment

of

the

U.S.Constitution

under

4 U.S.C.

983.

B.

Judgment

in

Plaintif

f

s

favor

asto

al l

claimsfor

relief.

C.

Specialand

generaldamages

in

excessof $ 5,000

to

compensate for

theinjuries

Ms.Ferratosustaineddue

to

DefendantPacholke s conduct

includingeconomic

and

non-economic damages

formedical

costs,pain,

suffering,

humiliation,

and

emotional

distress.

D.

Punitiveand

exemplary

damages,

pre-judgment interest,

post-judgment interest,

costs,

and

otherreasonable

expenses

incurredinmaintaining

this

action,andthe

reasonableattorneys

fees

and

costs

incurred

in

maintainingthis

action.

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E.

All

otherrelief

in

law

or equity

to

which

Plaintiff

is

entitled

and

that

the

Court

deems

equitable,

just,

or

proper.

V

J

ury

e nd

Plaintiffdemands

atrial by juryon

al lissueswithinthisComplaint.

Respectfully

submitted,

THE

HANDRALAWFIRM,

eter attako _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Subodh

Chandra

(0069 33)

AshlieCaseSletvold(0079477)

PeterPattakos(008 884)

65 W.6thSt.,Suite400

Cleveland,

H

44 3- 3 6

6.578. 700

Phone

6.578. 800

Fax

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Attorney

for

laintiff

Je ica

Ferrato

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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2016-02-16 Complaint