YOUNGSTOWN — Andre J. Ward, 32, of Youngstown has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Mahoning County and two Mahoning County deputies over Ward’s May 1, 2023, arrest while Ward was visiting Mahoning County Juvenile Court.

The suit was filed in May in U.S. District Court, where Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. is presiding.

The suit, filed by attorneys Joseph Frate, Robert DiCello and Jordyn Parks of Mentor, alleges that on May 1, 2023, Ward was inside the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center and had requested information from a court clerk regarding visitation and custody issues for a juvenile case.

A clerk behind the counter “insulted and / or disregarded his request for information,” the suit alleges. Ward was talking to the clerk and “trying to maintain her attention” when the two deputies, Jonathan Persing and James Weeden, approached Ward and told him he “had to leave, despite being trained to know that people in a public place do not have to leave unless they are breaking the law,” the suit alleges.

Ward “never threatened anyone, raised his voice to an unreasonable level, swore at, verbally threatened, physically threatened, attacked or otherwise maliciously approached any person,” the suit states. Ward was arrested by the deputies and charged with multiple offenses, the suit states.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE RESPONSE

On Aug. 8, attorneys for the county filed an answer to the complaint in which it denied or denied “for want of knowledge” that the clerk insulted or disregarded Ward when he spoke to her.

The response also denies “for want of knowledge” whether the two deputies approached Ward while Ward was trying to “maintain the attention” of the clerk.

The response admitted that Persing and Weeden asked Ward to leave the building but denied the allegation that they knew that Ward did not need to leave unless he was breaking the law.

The response denies “for want of knowledge” the allegation that Ward “never threatened anyone, raised his voice to an unreasonable level, swore at, verbally threatened, physically threatened, attacked or maliciously approached any person.”

Ward’s lawsuit alleges that his arrest was “unlawful and without any probable cause that a crime had been committed” and alleges that the deputies did not “witness any threats, disturbances, emergencies, weapons or other circumstances that indicated probable cause to arrest (Ward) without a warrant.”

The Sheriff’s Office response states that it denies those allegations.

Ward’s suit alleges that when Ward “resisted defendant officers’ efforts to take him into custody by pulling his arm away, defendant officers escalated their use of force” by taking Ward to the ground, striking Ward, Weeden used a stun gun on Ward, officers “piled on top” of him, officers applied pressure points on Ward and officers handcuffed Ward.

The Sheriff’s Office response states that Persing “admits that (Ward) was taken to the ground and handcuffed, admits defendant Weeden employed a (stun gun) on (Ward) and applied pressure point techniques and that (Ward) was taken to the ground and secured.” The Sheriff’s Office response denies other allegations in that section of the lawsuit, including that the deputies “struck” Ward or “piled on top of” him.

Ward denied that he threatened or instigated aggression toward anyone or “otherwise menace or try to harm any person or officer” and that the officers “initiated and provoked all of the violence that occurred.” The Sheriff’s Office response denied that it initiated and provoked all of the violence that occurred against Ward.

The Sheriff’s Office response also denies that Ward was “subjected to an unreasonable use of force during an arrest / seizure of his person that was without probable cause and was done in reckless disregard to his rights and safety as a citizen of Mahoning County.”

The Sheriff’s Office response denies “for want of knowledge” that Ward was charged with three misdemeanor offenses.

Youngstown Municipal Court records indicate that Ward was charged May 1, 2023, with disorderly conduct / threat of harm, a fourth degree misdemeanor, and was found not guilty at a jury trial March 7, 2024. The case was presided over by Judge Rene DiSalvo. The charges were filed by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.

Ward’s lawsuit seeks at least $75,000 “jointly and severally” in damages against Mahoning County and the two deputies, including compensatory and punitive damages.

Attorneys Kathy Thompson and Shaina Rocheford of the Youngstown Law Department prosecuted the case. Ward’s attorney was Walter Ritchie.