WILMINGTON, Ohio — The City of Wilmington violated the rights of two men arrested and jailed after they criticized officials during public comments at a City Council meeting in April, according to a federal lawsuit the men filed in United States District Court in Cincinnati.
Wilmington police charged Darrell Petrey and Tony Thomas with 'disrupting a public meeting' on April 20.
The misdemeanor charges were dismissed in July, according to Clinton County court records.
"I'm 52 years old exercising my rights and I get arrested for it," Thomas said. "That's scary."
Petrey and Thomas are suing the City of Wilmington, Police Chief Ronald Fithen and former Council President Mark McKay, who ran the meeting in April.
"What they did was wrong and I think they should pay," Petrey said. "Pay and be held accountable."
According to the lawsuit, the defendants violated Petrey and Thomas' right to protected free speech.
The suit also claims the two men were victims of "false arrest" and "malicious prosecution."
The City, Chief Fithen and McKay — who resigned in June — declined to comment.
"Our attorneys have advised against making public comments or participating in interviews related to this case," McKay wrote in an email response to the I-Team's request for comment. "As such, we are unable to provide an on-camera interview or a written statement regarding the incident you mentioned."
Before the council meeting, Petrey and Thomas had publicly criticized public officials — particularly then-Mayor John Stanforth and the police department — for months on social media, group emails and public meetings, the I-Team found.
But they weren't arrested until the meeting in April, which was two weeks before an election, according to the lawsuit.
Stanforth lost the election.
He declined to comment on the arrests of Petrey and Thomas.
Petrey and Thomas have accused Stanforth and other city officials of wasting taxpayer's money and other issues.
They've repeatedly criticized the Wilmington Police Department's investigation of Casey Pitzer's death in 2013.
Ms. Pitzer's body was found in a retention pond a week after she was reported missing, according to news reports.
An autopsy determined Pitzer, 32, drowned, according to police records.
But Petrey, Thomas and Pitzer's father — Greg Pitzer — believe she was killed.
No one has been charged in her death.
Greg Pitzer sued the City trying to force city officials to provide additional records.
Last month, a judge ordered the City to release more records to Greg Pitzer.
During the council meeting on April 20, Petrey told Stanforth he had "aided in the whitewashing of two murders."
Stanforth did not respond to Petrey's comment.
Petrey and Thomas said their frustration with how the City handled the Pitzer case prompted them to share their concerns about other issues.
Their attorney, Matt Miller-Novak, said Petrey and Thomas deserve damages for how they were treated.
"It would have been one thing to silence them, chill their speech and remove them from the building, and humiliate them," Miller-Novak said. "It's another thing to maliciously prosecute them the way that they did."
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