Plaintiff Aries Shaw has filed a civil rights complaint against several officers of the Farrell Police Department, alleging excessive force and assault. The complaint was filed on May 13, 2024, in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by Shaw's attorneys at Mizner Law Firm. The defendants named in the case are Aaron M. Marks, Joey D. Brant, Corporal Mariacher, and Officer Womer.
The incident that led to this lawsuit occurred on January 27, 2023. Shaw was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his friend Lashaii Hadden when they stopped near Bond and Hoon Streets in Farrell, Pennsylvania. After parking the car, Hadden became involved in a physical altercation with another woman. Shaw attempted to separate them when nearby individuals called 911.
Officers Brant and Womer arrived first at the scene, followed shortly by Corporal Mariacher and Officer Marks. According to the complaint, Brant asked Shaw to exit the vehicle and whether he had any weapons on him. Shaw complied and lifted his shirt to show he was unarmed but declined permission for a pat-down search. Despite this, Brant allegedly grabbed Shaw's hand, prompting Shaw to step back and ask what was happening.
At this point, Brant along with Officers Mariacher and Womer reportedly grabbed Shaw while yelling for him to stop resisting. The complaint states that Brant delivered "approximately four or five knee strikes" to Shaw's upper leg before tackling him to the pavement with help from Mariacher and Womer. They claimed they believed Shaw might be concealing a weapon because he had allegedly reached towards his waist area.
No weapon was found on Shaw after he was subdued and searched by the officers. However, during the arrest process, one officer placed Shaw in a chokehold making it difficult for him to breathe; he repeatedly called out "I can't breathe!" This conduct violated both Farrell Police Department policy prohibiting chokeholds except in life-threatening situations and Pennsylvania state law governing police use of force.
Video footage captured by a passerby shows three officers on top of an unmoving Shaw while Officer Marks ordered Hadden to stay by their vehicle. The video also confirms that Shaw cried out "I can't breathe!" as he lay pinned under their collective weight.
Following his arrest on charges including resisting arrest and possession with intent to deliver drugs (found post-arrest), Shaw sought medical treatment at St Elizabeth Boardman Hospital Emergency Department where he was diagnosed with multiple injuries including flank pain closed head injury fractured finger concussion chest wall contusion tenderness in thoracic spine bulging disks among others necessitating further follow-up care medication CT scans splints walking boots etc
Shaw claims these injuries resulted directly from excessive force used during his seizure/arrest violating Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches/seizures He seeks judgment exceeding $75k plus other legal reliefs against all named defendants
Representing Plaintiff: Attorneys John F Mizner Joseph Caulfield Mizner Law Firm
Case ID: 2:24-cv-00706 Judge: Not specified