Two police officers request dismissal of excessive force lawsuit
Two Southwest Regional police officers filed a motion in federal court asking a judge dismiss a suit filed against them by a California woman.
On Tuesday, Chief John Hartman and Officer Stephen Schwartz requested the dismissal through their attorney, Sheryl Brown, on the suit filed by Kayla Creamer of Hemet, California. Creamer claimed excessive force was used against her and that she was maliciously prosecuted by police in August 2012.
The suit claims the officers went to a Belle Vernon home without a search warrant. Creamer was visiting a friend, and she alleged police ordered her to stay away from her vehicle while they opened it to take her dogs.
The suit also claims the officers forcefully handcuffed her and put her in the back of a squad car when she experienced abdominal pain as she said she was pregnant at the time.
According to the brief filed by Brown, the officers were dispatched to the home for a report of three dogs locked in a hot vehicle for several days.
Upon arrival, the officers found the windows in Creamer’s Honda Accord were slightly cracked for ventilation and the smell of urine from inside the vehicle indicated the dogs were inside for some time, the filing indicated.
A humane officer told police the dogs’ condition rose to the level of a criminal offense.
The dogs were seized by the Fayette SPCA, and the vehicle was impounded, Brown wrote.
During the impounding process, officers searched the vehicle and found evidence to suspect a marijuana manufacturing operation was taking place at the home.
The brief also states that Creamer was acting in an “aggressive and belligerent manner” and was causing a public disturbance.
“Creamer was not handcuffed and sat in the back of the police patrol vehicle with the door open while the officers continued the police investigation,” Brown wrote.
The charges against Creamer were dismissed by the Fayette County district attorney’s office in March 2014.
Creamer’s lawsuit was dismissed in May by Judge Terrance McVerry for failure to state a claim, but she later filed an amended complaint.