NEWS

New Philadelphia man and son claim police violated their rights

Nancy Molnar
The Times-Reporter

NEW PHILADELPHIA — A city man and his son are claiming their constitutional rights were violated when police responded to a complaint about a man with a gun on June 4, 2021.

In a civil complaint filed June 3 in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court, Jeffery L. Martin and his son allege that police unreasonably surrounded them, seized their identification and searched their personal information.

They claim violations of the Fourth and 14th amendments to the Constitution occurred after police received a resident's complaint about an incident at an apartment in the 400 block of Second Street NE. The Martins live on the same block.

Named as defendants are Police Chief Michael Goodwin, Mayor Joel Day, Law Director Marvin Fete, Capt. Tessa Pohovey, Capt. Paul Rossi, Officer Geoffrey DeMattio and Officer Wayne Clark. 

The Times-Reporter asked Fete to respond to the complaint in an email sent late Thursday. The city's formal reply to the suit has not been filed in court.

The Martins claim the incident caused them psychological harm, and caused the teen to withdraw from his law enforcement classes. The seek more than $15,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

Their suit asks for the establishment of two local laws. The first would make it a fourth-degree felony to violate the civil rights of juveniles in law enforcement or other first responder courses who make the merit role for a year. The second would protect police dispatchers from being drawn into formal complaints alleging officer misconduct.

Jeffery Martin is representing himself and his son in the case, which has been assigned to Judge Michael Ernest.