More than two months after an Akron man filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Akron and two police officers alleging an unconstitutional arrest and malicious prosecution, city prosecutors refiled misdemeanor criminal charges against him late last month.
The city is also asking a federal judge to pause the civil rights lawsuit while the criminal case against Gabriel Benson plays out in the Akron Municipal Court. If Benson is convicted – he’s accused of misdemeanor obstructing official business, failing to disclose personal information and disorderly conduct – his civil lawsuit attacking the merits of his arrest would likely be dismissed.
In federal court on Monday, Benson’s civil rights attorneys said the city is attempting to punish him for filing a lawsuit against them by refiling charges prosecutors dismissed long ago. They also say city prosecutors violated the Ohio Code of Professional Responsibility by attempting to get Benson to waive his right to sue in exchange for dropped charges earlier this year (according to her attorney, prosecutors also offered the same deal earlier this year to Dierra Fields, who also rejected it).
“Defendants’ actions are in bad faith, and they are intended to intimidate and retaliate against Benson for bringing this Action,” wrote his Cincinnati-based attorneys, Matt Miller-Novak and Robert L. Thompson.
The prosecutors pursuing the renewed charges against Benson in the municipal court, along with the lawyers defending against his civil rights suit in federal court, all work for the City of Akron’s Department of Law, headed by Mayor Shammas Malik appointee Deborah Matz.
The law department and mayor’s office declined to comment or answer Signal Akron’s questions for this story.
In January, Benson was arrested when police officers showed up at his house after his wife reported he was drunk and “belligerent” inside their home (she told them he hadn’t been physical with her). Officers, according to the incident report, said Benson was swearing, “highly uncooperative,” and refused to give them his name.
He was arrested for obstructing official business and failure to disclose personal information and spent two days in jail. In March, prosecutors offered to drop the charges against Benson if he agreed not to sue them but he refused, and the charges were dropped anyway, the suit says.
“Benson refused to submit to Defendants’ authority when he was not required to, Benson said unpleasant things to Defendants they did not like, and Benson refused to submit to Defendants’ coercive demands to waive his constitutional rights,” his attorneys summarized in the filing submitted Monday.
Benson’s July civil rights lawsuit against the city, along with the two officers involved in his arrest, alleges:
- A First Amendment violation for punishing Benson for being argumentative inside his own home, retaliating against him for his protected speech.
- A Fourth Amendment violation for malicious arrest, malicious prosecution, excessive force, and unlawful seizure of a person.
- False arrest because there was no probable cause.
- Battery for wrongfully handcuffing him.
City prosecutors refiled criminal charges on Sept. 20, also adding a disorderly conduct charge. A day earlier, attorneys representing the city in the civil lawsuit issued the city’s response to Benson’s July complaint, denying all wrongdoing. They then filed a motion to pause Benson’s lawsuit while the criminal case plays out.
“For almost seven months [after dropping his charges in March], Defendants never lifted a finger again,” wrote Benson’s attorneys, opposing the city’s motion to pause the lawsuit. “Now, only one day after they filed their Answer, Defendants have reinstated the same charges against Benson they failed to convince him to waive during his initial malicious prosecution.”
According to Akron Municipal Court records, Benson will be arraigned on his recently filed criminal charges on Wednesday. According to federal court records, unless the city’s motion to pause the case is granted, the two sides will meet with a judge for a case management conference in November.