Pennsylvania family files lawsuit against cops who invaded their home
A Pennsylvania couple is suing three police officers who they say invaded their home on Feb. 22.
Kia Gaymon, 38, and her husband Michael, 35 of Collingdale, filed a lawsuit against the borough as well as three police officers.
The lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred at the couple’s Collingdale home back on February 22. The couple says it all began when Mr. Gaymon’s mother visited their home and partially parked her car on their next-door neighbor’s curb. The neighbor called police and three Collingdale officers soon arrived.
According to Mrs. Gaymon, one officer began to yell at her and her husband in an “aggressive and accusatory manner,” and asked which one of them spit on their neighbor. The couple told the officer they had done nothing wrong and that their neighbor was falsely accusing them.
The lawsuit accuses the officer of getting within inches of Mr. Gaymon’s face while screaming at him. “His behavior was so aggressive that the first thing I thought was to pull out my phone and video,” Mrs. Gaymon said.
Mrs. Gaymon began to record the officer as she stood outside her front door. The lawsuit claims the officer noticed her recording and walked toward her, demanding that she stop.
“He told me that if I continued to video he was going to come in my house and confiscate my phone and place me under arrest,” Mrs. Gaymon said.
According to the lawsuit, an officer told Mrs. Gaymon she could not record him because it violated Pennsylvania’s wiretap statute.
Mr. Gaymon and the couple’s daughter told the officer he was wrong and that she had the legal right to record. The lawsuit states the officer then told Mrs. Gaymon that if she didn’t stop recording, he would arrest her and take away her cellphone.
Mrs. Gaymon was inside of her home during the time of incident. The Gaymon’s accuse the officer of entering their home and grabbing Mrs. Gaymon, pushing her against the wall and holding his taser against her chest. The lawsuit states the second and third officers then placed Mrs. Gaymon under arrest and removed her from the home.
Mrs. Gaymon and her daughter were taken in separate vehicles to the Collingdale Police Station. A 2012 letter issued by the Department of Justice stated individuals had a “First Amendment right to record police officers in the public discharge of their duties.”
Charges were dismissed against the Gaymons in May.
Sound off below!
