Charleston WV July 30 2018 A group of Capitol police officers entered a man’s home and arrested him without a warrant before taking him to the Capitol in what amounted to an “armed abduction,” according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.

Michael Rhodes, 55, and his father, Robert Rhodes, filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against the state Division of Protective Services and six Capitol police officers.

Those officers filed four criminal charges against Michael Rhodes in 2016 for assaulting an officer, obstructing an officer, fleeing from an officer, and destruction of property. He was found guilty of the charges in Kanawha County Magistrate Court in November 2016 and sentenced to a year in prison.

However, a Kanawha County circuit judge reversed the ruling in an August 2017 bench trial and dismissed all charges against Rhodes.

“During a trial in Kanawha County Circuit Court it was disclosed that substantial parts of the referenced criminal complaint were purely fabrication, and Michael Rhodes was acquitted of all charges,” the lawsuit states.

After spending nearly a month at South Central Regional Jail and six months on home confinement (though not at his primary place of residence), Rhodes filed suit alleging false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and other offenses.

In the criminal complaint, Sgt. Robert Herald, now a defendant in the lawsuit, wrote that Rhodes drove a car at a high rate of speed into the driveway of an unidentified Capitol police officer and almost hit the officer and his son. He said Rhodes threatened the officer, appeared combative, and ignored orders to exit his vehicle before fleeing the scene.

The complaint explicitly notes Rhodes was detained in a warrantless arrest.

Gregory Fernatt, the officer in question and now a defendant in the lawsuit, testified during the trial that he handwrote the statement he gave to the arresting officers at his kitchen table. He was off-duty at the time and was wearing his uniform.

The prosecution pointed to a small skid mark on Fernatt’s driveway as evidence of the destruction of property.

The lawsuit, however, offers a different narrative. It states Rhodes pulled into the driveway of Fernatt, who Rhodes perceived to be friendly and approachable. The lawsuit states Rhodes asked Fernatt why he was being followed by other police officers. Fernatt didn’t give much of an answer, and Rhodes left without incident.

“Defendant Fernatt, rather than contacting the Charleston Police, called his supervisor, Defendant [Deputy Director of the Division of Protective Services Jack] Chambers, according to Fernatt, ‘because it need[ed] to be handled by an experienced crew,’ ” the suit states, quoting Fernatt. “Chambers, rather than calling an appropriate agency to investigate, immediately sent a contingent of Capitol security officers to ‘look into’ Fernatt’s complaint.”

Later that day, four officers — but not Fernatt — confronted Rhodes’ father outside his home and asked to speak to his son, the document states.

When the elder Rhodes unlocked the door, some of the officers rushed in behind him and let other officers in by unlocking another door from inside — all without a warrant. They then took Rhodes to the Capitol, where he was told “he was fortunate that his father had been present and otherwise he would have taken a beating,” according to the lawsuit.

A public defender represented Rhodes in magistrate court, but Charleston attorney Mark McMillian took up the case for its appeal in circuit court. During the trial, McMillian argued the charges against Rhodes were improper because Fernatt was not acting in his official capacity as a police officer, according to transcripts of the proceedings.

In pre-trial motions, McMillian noted Rhodes was sentenced while he was in the hospital, a violation of criminal procedure, and was never read his Miranda rights when arrested.

Maryclaire Akers, Kanawha County assistant prosecuting attorney, argued that because Rhodes thought Fernatt was on active duty as an officer, the charges should hold steady.

Judge Charles King did not offer any explanation with his decision to side with Rhodes, according to the transcripts. However, some comments King made as the attorneys gave their closing arguments suggest he was skeptical of the charges.

“Chirping tires on a driveway and leaving black marks, that doesn’t destroy anything,” King said of the destruction of property charges in the transcripts.

Fernatt testified that he feared for his life when Rhodes pulled into his driveway. In response to the fleeing from an officer charge, King also seemed to raise an eyebrow.

“Well, I would have thought that’s [what] Fernatt wanted him to do is get out of there,” the judge said.

McMillian declined to comment.

Larry Messina, a spokesman for the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, also declined to comment.

“We decline to comment on the pending litigation, and believe the evidence and filings in the criminal case speak for themselves,” he said.

Source:wvgazettemail.com

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