An Ohio police officer accuses the sheriff's office of arresting her “without evidence,” abducting her young child and disseminating “explicit” photos obtained from her cell phone, according to a new lawsuit.
Deputies with the Portage County Sheriff's Office arrested Officer Miranda Brothers of the Mantua Police Department on January 1, 2024.
“Despite knowing that the digital images were not related to any criminal charges, Detective John Doe shared and/or disseminated these digital images within Portage County.” [Sheriff’s] office, and potentially further. ”
WOIO-TV Obtained police body camera footage of the traffic stop. The siblings were seen becoming emotional as officers removed the child from the car.
Body camera video shows the brothers saying, “Are you going to take away custody of my child? For what?”
Deputies accused Brothers of neglecting his 5-year-old son, who is a registered sex offender. Officers then removed the child and the siblings were arrested.
The next day, Sheriff's Office Detective Kenneth Romo charged Brothers with endangering the welfare of a child.
Body camera video shows investigators using a search warrant to seize the brothers' cellphones. The brothers voluntarily handed over the child's tablet to the police officer.
The brothers were transported to the sheriff's office, where they were questioned by detectives. Her child was temporarily placed in foster care.
The Portage County Sheriff's Office accused Brothers of allowing a registered sex offender to “spend extended periods of time alone with a then-5-year-old child.”
Mantua Mayor Tammy Meyer immediately placed the brothers on administrative leave after their arrest.
Detectives said they received tips about the alleged crime from multiple people.
On Dec. 7, 2023, “at least” two detectives from the Portage County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to surveil the brothers and their child at a restaurant in Mantua, a village about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland, according to the complaint. It is said that
Portager Sheriff's Office Detective Michelle Weber oversaw the investigation and testified under oath that the child endangerment charges were “unsubstantiated” and “not accurate,” the report said.
Sheriff's Office Detective Eric Knoll later testified that the child “never had any unsupervised contact with a registered sex offender,” according to court documents.
The complaint alleges that four detectives testified in December 2023 that none of them personally observed a registered sex offender supervising a child or believed the child was in danger. He claims that no one witnessed what happened.
On July 11, 2024, Portage County District Court Judge Mark Fankhauser dismissed the case against Brothers.
After the case was dropped, the brothers rejoined the Mantua Police Department.
Last week, the brothers submitted their papers to her. complaint to the Portage County Sheriff's Office.
“As a result of the actions of the Portage County Sheriff's Office, the plaintiff brothers suffered severe emotional distress of a nature that no reasonable person could be expected to endure.”
The complaint states: ”This criminal complaint directly contradicts the sworn testimony of a member of the Portage County Sheriff's Office who personally observed Boy A on December 7, 2023. ”
The Portage County Sheriff's Office reportedly conducted a forensic examination of the brothers' cellphones and copied the cellphone data into a computer database.
Sheriff's Office Detective Michael Hanna reportedly testified that there was no incriminating evidence on the brothers' phone calls regarding child endangerment allegations.
The lawsuit also accuses anonymous members of the sheriff's office of viewing and disseminating “private digital images” from the brothers' cell phones.
“Despite knowing that the digital images were not related to any criminal charges, Detective John Doe shared and/or disseminated these digital images within Portage County.” [Sheriff’s] “Possible position and potential for further employment,” the complaint states. “The actions of the Portage County Sheriff's Office in observing, sharing, and/or distributing private digital images of Plaintiffs' brothers are so extreme and outrageous that they exceed all bounds of decency and would not be tolerated in a civilized society. It is impossible.”
Eric Fink, the brothers' attorney, acknowledged: Woio He said the photos were “explicit in nature.”
“She took the child to a babysitter who was at a restaurant in Mantua. She was scheduled to work in Mantua. Her babysitter was an off-duty police dispatcher,” Fink told police. A background check is being conducted. While she was there, the sheriff's department conducted an investigation.” They had several detectives stand up and take photos to try to determine whether she left her child with a registered sex offender rather than a babysitter, a police dispatcher. ”
The complaint names the Portage County Commission, the Portage County Sheriff's Department, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, Detective Kenneth Romo, and an unnamed detective as defendants.
“As a result of the actions of the Portage County Sheriff's Office, the plaintiff brothers suffered severe emotional distress of a nature that no reasonable person could be expected to endure,” the complaint states.
The complaint alleges that Brothers was charged with malicious prosecution, violation of the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and 14th Amendment rights, and intentional infliction of emotional infliction by virtue of his suspension as a police officer. The lawsuit alleges that there was tortious interference.
The lawsuit seeks at least $25,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages for each defendant.
The Portage County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the New York Post and WOIO.
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