By Alex Rose, Delaware County
Daily Times
A Collingdale couple and their
adult daughter are suing the borough and several of its police officers in
federal court for alleged civil rights violations stemming from a Feb. 22
confrontation at their home that ended in arrests for disorderly conduct.
The suit claims Officer Carl
White aggressively confronted plaintiff Michael Gaymon, 35, then entered the
couple’s home without a warrant or permission and arrested 38-year-old Kia
Gaymon for videotaping him with her cellphone.
Police Chief Robert W. Adams
referred comments to borough Solicitor Sam Auslander, who said he was aware of
the filing but had not reviewed it or spoken with any defendants, so he could
not comment.
Michael and Kia Gaymon filed
suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Tuesday along with their 21-year-old daughter, Sanshuray Purnell, who was also
arrested.
The suit claims Michael
Gaymon’s mother, a guest at their home, had parked her car on the curb of a
neighbor’s property. White and fellow Officer William Eckert, apparently
responding to a call from the neighbor, arrived at the couple’s home as Purnell
and her parents were leaving for a family outing.
White allegedly began yelling
in an accusatory manner, asking which of them had spit at the neighbor. After
denying any wrongdoing, White approached Michael Gaymon aggressively and yelled
at him just inches from his face, according to the complaint.
Kia Gaymon began to tape the
confrontation with her cellphone, according to the suit. When White noticed her
recording the incident from the top outside step of her home, he allegedly
approached her and she went inside, but continued to video from within a storm
door. White informed her that she was violating Pennsylvania’s wiretap statute
and ordered her to stop recording, according to the suit.
Purnell and Michael Gaymon
allegedly told White that Kia Gaymon was within her rights to videotape the
interaction, but the complaint claims the officer warned the woman that he
would enter her home, confiscate her phone and place her under arrest if she
did not stop.
When Kia Gaymon told the
officer he did not have permission to enter her home, White allegedly walked up
the steps to the front door and placed Purnell in handcuffs, threatening her
with a Taser.
The complaint claims Eckert
escorted Purnell from the steps as White entered the home and pushed Kia Gaymon
against a wall while holding a Taser against her chest, over protests from the
plaintiffs that he did not have permission to be in their home.
Eckert and other unidentified
Collingdale officers then allegedly handcuffed Kia Gaymon and placed her under
arrest. Both women were transported to the Collingdale police station and were
later released after being cited for disorderly conduct, according to the
complaint.
The suit and court records
indicate those charges were dismissed at the district court level in May.
The Gaymons and Purnell now
claim that the arrests and prosecution of the disorderly conduct charges were
unwarranted and came in retaliation for Kia Gaymon exercising her
constitutionally protected right to videotape law enforcement in the course of
their duties. The suit additionally alleges Collingdale Borough failed to
properly train officers on various aspects of the law.
The complaint alleges claims
for unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution, retaliatory arrest, unlawful
search, municipal liability and state law claims, and demands a jury trial.
The plaintiffs claim to have
suffered physical and psychological harm, pain and suffering, and financial
losses, for which they are seeking actual and punitive damages, along with
legal fees.
