Judge recommends dismissal of suit against city police
A federal magistrate has recommended dismissing a suit filed against Uniontown police by an Army captain who claimed his arrest in 2004 damaged his military career. Joshua Grimm brought the action against officers Jonathan Grabiak and Michael Garrow, former chief Kyle Sneddon, and the city and its police department last year. In the suit, filed in federal court in Pittsburgh, Grimm claimed that police were not properly trained and had overstepped their bounds in arresting him. He also claimed that police actions hampered his military career.
Grimm was taken into police custody for alleged public intoxication and disorderly conduct in 2004 following a wedding at the former Mount Vernon Inn. The suit claimed that when Grimm exercised his constitutional rights to remain silent and to free speech, Grabiak called the Fort Meade military police in Maryland.
Grimm was stationed there at the time.
The suit alleged that Grabiak told a major at the station that Grimm was being charged, and Grimm’s brigade commander was notified. The citations were later withdrawn, but Grimm alleged that calling the military base got him a reprimand, and has harmed his career.
The citations, filed by Grabiak, were withdrawn shortly after they were filed.
In a lengthy filing handed down last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert C. Mitchell found that Grimm did not prove any constitutional violations. Mitchell also indicated that the U.S. Army – not city police – chose to change Grimm’s duties.
“Defendants note that the record reflects that officers Garrow and Grabiak requested that (Grimm) be treated with leniency. The fact that the Army chose not to do so does not allow him to proceed against these defendants for actions taken by the Army over which they had no control,” Mitchell wrote.
He also addressed allegations that Uniontown police were retaliating against Grimm over a family’s member’s trouble with a former police officer in another jurisdiction in Fayette County. Mitchell found that Uniontown police did not realize the relationship when Grimm was arrested.
Grimm’s attorney has until Jan. 15 to object to the recommendation. If they do not, it will be forwarded to a federal judge, who will likely adopt the findings and officially dismiss the case.