When
last we peeked in on the serene town of Colwyn, Pennsylvania, cops were tasing
each other, the police department was being raided by county agents, and the
mayor was, perhaps understandably, declaring a state of emergency. Now, the
town features again because of a federal lawsuit filed — again, understandably
— against a police officer who featured prominently in my last post, as well as
several Colwyn officials.
Officer
Trevor Parham was at the center of the May post because of allegations that
he'd tased 17-year-old Da’Qwan Jackson while the teenager was handcuffed and
confined in a holding cell. The lawsuit, however, raises new and interesting
tales of woe.
According
to the Delaware County Daily Times:
The
lawsuit paints Trevor Parham as an out-of-control cop who wrongly arrested and
persistently harassed a 64-year-old borough man and then had four officers who
reported the alleged misuse of power either fired or disciplined.
Also
named as defendants are the Borough of Colwyn, Police Chief Wendell Reed,
Council President Tonette Pray and Sherri Bedford, administrative assistant for
the borough.
The
lawsuit, filed on behalf of five plaintiffs - Colwyn resident Maurice J. Clark,
Sr., former Colwyn Police Officers Kevin E. Banks Sr., Bryant K. Sterling,
Clinton Craddock and Colwyn Police Lt. Wesley Seitz, seeks undisclosed monetary
damages, attorney fees and other costs. The civil action cites violations of
the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights under the 4th and 14th Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution, as well as the Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law and charges of
assault and battery, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
The
lawsuit also claims Bedford and Reed illegally collected workers compensation
benefits while working for Colwyn.
In
the lawsuit, Clark claims Parham repeatedly harassed him and on July 19
arrested him after he complained to Bedford about his behavior.
“If
you got to say something about me, then say it to my face,” Parham allegedly
said to Clark, who was sitting in his truck outside of borough hall after
speaking to Bedford. “Get out of the (expletive) truck, you’re under arrest.”
Parham
allegedly put Clark in a jail cell and handcuffed him to a metal chair,
according to court documents.
“Do
you want to fight me, do you want to fight me?” Parham allegedly said to Clark,
as he pulled out his Taser and pressed its trigger, according to the lawsuit.
Clark
spent about 90 minutes in custody before he was cited for disorderly conduct
and released. He later was found to be not guilty of the charge.
Parham
allegedly continued to harass Clark. On Nov. 8, he allegedly instructed Colwyn
cops to arrest Clark anytime they saw him.
“If
you see that old ass (expletive) lock him up, and I’ll take care of the
paperwork,” the lawsuit alleges.
Banks,
Sterling and Craddock were present when Parham gave the order to arrest Clark,
the lawsuit claims. It also states when the three officers made it known that
they would not participate in the arrest of Clark, they were fired or
disciplined.
I
should say that I'm pleased there were officers who told Parham to take a hike
when he instructed them to engage in wildly abusive violations of a Clark's
civil right. Then again, oh yeah, they were fired for their trouble.
The
Philadelphia Inquirer adds that the suit also claims that Council President
Tonette Pray "vowed that whoever leaked accounts of the Taser episode to
reporters would be fired." The leaker turned out to be whistle-blower Lt.
Wesley Seitz, the officer who reported the Da’Qwan Jackson matter to the mayor.
He was, in fact, canned and is a plaintiff in this case.
Colwyn,
Pennsylvania. Yet another town to add to the "no-go" list when
planning your travels.