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Woman files lawsuit against Campbell, alleging illegal search
By Sarah Lehr
CAMPBELL
A woman has filed a lawsuit against a Campbell police officer, alleging violation of her rights against illegal and unreasonable search, seizure and use of force.
Mary Jo Phillips, 60, of Lowellville filed the civil lawsuit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, asking for more than $75,000 in damages. The lawsuit names Officer Eric Manning, the city and also mentions several unnamed defendants.
Law Director Brian Macala said the city denies the lawsuit’s allegations.
The lawsuit alleges violation of her Fourth and 14th Amendment rights and refers to two traffic stops – one that reportedly occurred March 6 and another that occurred June 4. According to the lawsuit, on March 6, Manning and at least one other officer pulled over a vehicle in which Phillips was a passenger for failure to use a turn signal and “forcibly” searched her on the side of the road, exposing her private parts.
A dispatch call record of the incident lists the date of the incident as March 7, rather than March 6. Attn. James Gentile said his client, Phillips, may have been confused about the date.
The record does not list Manning as one of the officers involved and does not mention a search of anyone’s person.
According to the call record of the traffic stop, a police dog issued a positive sniff alert for the presence of drugs. A female Poland officer arrived to assist and the stop resulted in a citation against the driver for failure to use a turn signal, the record states.
Acting Police Chief Lt. Kevin Sferra said officers did not complete a full incident report regarding the stop because it did not result in an arrest.
The lawsuit also refers to a second traffic stop in which Phillips was a passenger that occurred June 4. The police report from that incident states Manning pulled over a vehicle for failure to stop at a stop sign.
After a police dog issued a positive sniff alert for the presence of drugs, officers determined probable cause to search the vehicle, the police report states. Police charged Phillips after finding a small plastic bag with suspected marijuana residue inside a larger grocery bag inside the vehicle, Manning wrote in the report.
The lawsuit claims officers taunted Phillips during the second stop due to a complaint she filed with the city about the first stop. Macala said claims of retaliation are untrue.
A judge in August dismissed the drug-paraphernalia charge against Phillips.