Lawsuit accuses Beaver Falls Police Department of unlawful arrest during 2022

BEAVER FALLS ― A lawsuit has been filed against several officers and the solicitor in Beaver Falls by a man alleging they unlawfully arrested him last year and withheld records.

According to the civil case filed in October, Beaver Falls resident Eric Watson has accused several members of the Beaver Falls Police Department of violating his rights through an incident with he says was an unlawful arrest on Aug. 26, 2022. The lawsuit also claims the City of Beaver Falls unlawfully denied requests for public records after the incident.

As of Dec. 11, officials from Beaver Falls and the three police officers named in the lawsuit have not filed a response to Watson's allegations, meaning that the only documents publicly available on the incident are these accusations. When officials file their response to these claims, The Times will report the response and offer updates on this lawsuit as the story evolves.

The Times reached out for comment on the case from Beaver County Solicitor Garen Fedeles, who is named in the lawsuit and whose firm represented Beaver Falls, but could not connect with him Monday morning.

What does the lawsuit claim?

According to the lawsuit, Watson walked around 2 miles from his home to Beaver Falls while traveling to the post office and bank. While on Eighth Avenue, he removed a camera from his backpack to begin "photographing murals inside of the post office [he] was about to enter." He began to take several photos and videos with his pocket camera before entering the building.

Watson said that "in less than 10 seconds," a citizen confronted him about suspicious behavior and began to follow him around. As the citizen continued to follow Watson around the area, he entered the Beaver County Human Services building to inform an on-duty sheriff's deputy about the incident, and the citizen followed Watson into the building while on the phone with local police.

After waiting in the building's lobby, Watson said four Beaver Falls police officers arrived and began to interrogate him and the person who had been following him. The person who called officers had a "brief conversation" with police before they were allowed to leave, he said.

During Watson's interaction with the four officers, he said one of the officers became increasingly aggressive with his questions. As Watson told his side of the story and potential harassment to officers, he said the officer cut him off and shouted phrases like "This is my scene" and "I'm in charge" in response to Watson's requests to continue.

After this interaction, Watson started to decline to answer questions, saying he had "begun to assert his Fifth Amendment right." After saying this to officers, Watson said the officer ordered the other officers to arrest him as he was "done playing games" with Watson.

As Watson was put in handcuffs, he said officers "grabbed [his] left arm and twisted it behind [his] back, lifting it so high, and over [his] backpack, that he was forced to fully bend over at the waist." In the lawsuit, Watson said this use of force caused pain to his left shoulder and neck, which led to "persistent numbness in the pinky and ring finger" of his left hand.

According to Watson, officers told him he was arrested for the potential of being under the influence, as officers described him as sweating and allegedly told him his eyes were "this big" while making circles with their hands.

During the arrest, Watson said officers never informed him of his Miranda Rights and testing for substances was not completed. Watson said he was held in a police cell for four hours, after which he was handed a citation for public drunkenness and similar misconduct.

After being released from police custody, Watson filed several right-to-know requests through the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records to gather information about the incident. On Aug. 30, a request was sent to Beaver County for footage from the Human Services building but was denied because officials said it would "jeopardize or threaten public safety."

An appeal was later filed with the Office of Open Records on Sept. 16, but Beaver County officials wrote that they no longer had the video and stood by their original stance that releasing the footage would pose a risk to the security of the building. The county later provided statements from officials that their video surveillance policy includes an automatic deletion on a rolling basis after 30 days, and the county did not begin the search for this footage until Sept. 27.

In their final determination, the Office of Open Record ruled in favor of Beaver County's officials, asserting that the adherence to policy and the lack of records did not require them to provide this video footage. Watson filed several associated right-to-know requests, as well as a request for the emergency call records, but investigators for the records office repeatedly sided in favor of the county.

Only one of these appeals was approved by the Office of Open Records: a right-to-know request for the department's policy on warrantless arrests. According to the decision, the city did not participate in this appeals process, which permitted Watson to access these records as of July 5, 2023.

Watson said the city's right-to-know officer informed him solicitor Shannon Steele had them "not comply and disregard the law and ignore the finding of the Office of Open Records."

What happens next in this lawsuit?

Records indicate Watson is representing himself in court. The civil lawsuit accuses the Beaver Falls Police Department officers of committing unlawful detainment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, unlawful imprisonment, the violation of due process, retaliatory arrest, excessive force and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit also claims Beaver Falls is responsible for lacking adequate police policy and providing proper documentation about the arrest.

As of Dec. 11, 2023, the legal representation for the three police officers and Beaver Falls has not responded to these accusations. A request for an extension on the response was approved, which means that responses for the officers and the city must be filed by Jan. 8, unless another extension is requested.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Lawsuit accuses Beaver Falls police officers of unlawful arrest