A civil rights lawsuit has been filed against several police officers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, alleging excessive force and malicious prosecution. The complaint was filed by Ricardo Castor on June 6, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Officers Dustin Galich, Jarret Kaspryszyn, Joshua Stegena, Jonathan Bradford, Tracy Shannon, Jared Ruffing, and David Ernst.
According to the complaint, the incident occurred on June 6, 2024. Plaintiff Ricardo Castor was a passenger in a car driven by his girlfriend Cassandra Laughlin when another driver, Robert Bacon, allegedly threw ketchup packets at Laughlin through her open window. This prompted Castor to exit the vehicle and confront Bacon. During this confrontation, Bacon threatened Castor with a baseball bat. As tensions escalated between Castor and Bacon, the defendant officers arrived at the scene and began shouting at Castor. The plaintiff claims that without warning or provocation from him, the officers attacked him physically.
The complaint alleges that Officer Dustin Galich and other defendants tased Castor and repeatedly struck him while he was on the ground. Despite Castor's attempts to explain that Bacon had assaulted Laughlin first by throwing objects at her, the officers continued their assault. Afterward, they transported him to UPMC Mercy Hospital for medical clearance before taking him to Allegheny County Jail where he was held for one day.
The plaintiff further asserts that while he was in custody in a patrol car before being transported to jail, the defendant officers colluded to fabricate a story that falsely depicted Castor as the aggressor who escalated the situation into violence. Consequently, they charged him with multiple offenses including Felony Aggravated Assault and Terroristic Threats among others.
In addition to physical injuries from excessive force used by the officers during his arrest—which included being tased—Castor claims he suffered severe emotional distress as well as significant personal losses such as losing his job and being dismissed from Chatham University due to these events.
The lawsuit includes multiple counts under 42 U.S.C §1983 for violations of Fourth Amendment rights (freedom from excessive force), Fourteenth Amendment rights (equal protection under law), malicious prosecution along with state claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress among others.
Plaintiff seeks judgment against all named defendants in an amount exceeding arbitration limits plus costs punitive damages attorney fees along with any other relief deemed appropriate by court jury trial is demanded each count within complaint respectively filed behalf plaintiff attorneys Alexander H Lindsay Jr Max B Roesch representing Lindsay Law Firm PC Butler Pennsylvania presiding judge Robert J Colville case number 2:24-cv-00823-RJC