PHILADELPHIA - A Darby man is suing two police officers, alleging excessive force and unlawful arrest.
Richard Schafferman filed a lawsuit July 6 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Brian Schwenger and Michael Martin, two Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority police officers, alleging violation of his civil rights.
According to the filing, on July 6, 2013, Schafferman was standing on the subway platform in City Hall Station in Philadelphia when two police officers approached and arrested him without cause or justification.
The suit says the officers told the plaintiff he was being arrested for disorderly conduct and then proceeded to punch and strike him in the back of the head with a baton.
The lawsuit states the officers continued to beat and taunt the plaintiff, kicking him down the subway stairs and kicking him on the ground. The suit also alleges the officers falsified police paperwork, which caused the plaintiff to be charged with aggravated assault on a police officer.
Schafferman seeks compensatory damages, attorney fees and court costs. He is represented by attorney Gary Bailey of Bailey and Associates.
U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania case number 2:15-cv-03731-LFR