HARRISBURG — A man is suing a police officer, citing alleged malicious prosecution.
Lance H. Farmer filed a complaint on April 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against Matthew T. Decker, alleging that the police officer violated the Civil Rights Act and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on April 4, 2015, he attended an Easter egg hunt, where he spoke to an adult female about her children bullying his children. The female called the Pennsylvania State Police to complain that he had referred to her children by a profane term, the suit says. Defendant responded and issued him a summons for disorderly conduct for allegedly using explicit language, according to the suit. On June 16, 2015, he was found not guilty of the charge, he claims. He alleges he suffered emotional distress, embarrassment, inconvenience and financial harm. The plaintiff holds Matthew T. Decker responsible because the defendant allegedly initiated a criminal proceeding, knew that probable cause did not exist for the crime charged and acted maliciously with the purpose of punishing him.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment that the defendant’s conduct violated his constitutional rights, compensation for all damages, attorney’s fees and costs and such other financial or equitable relief as is reasonable and just. He is represented by Devon M. Jacob of Jacob Litigation in Mechanicsburg.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Case number 1:16-cv-00653