Teacher accuses Columbus police officers of excessive force, false arrest
A Columbus City Schools teacher filed a federal lawsuit against two police officers, accusing them of using excessive force and arresting her for a crime she didn't commit.
Sierra Simmons, 36, filed a lawsuit Wednesday U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio in Columbus against Columbus police officer Randall Beam and Sgt. Chase Rogers. The lawsuit relate to an April 3, 2023 incident where Simmons says the officers arrested her for no reason as she went to her sister's home to pick up her children.
Beam and Rogers responded to a dispute between neighbors in the University District. One of those neighbors was Simmons' sister, where Simmons' 17-year-old and 5-year-old had planned to spend the night while she worked a side job delivering for DoorDash.
After Simmons' son contacted her about the neighbor dispute, she went to her sister's home to get her children.
Police cars lined the street with their lights flashing as Simmons arrived, according to the lawsuit. She parked across the street with her hazard lights on and approached her sister's home. Simmons said in her suit that there was no crime scene tape or physical barrier up outside the home as she walked up to the front porch.
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One of the two officers, identified in the lawsuit as Beam, told Simmons, who was standing on the porch, that she could not go into the home.
Simmons explained that her kids were inside, and the officer said there were children across the street. Simmons asked where her sister was and "instead of answering ... the officers continued to demand she get off the porch," the lawsuit says.
Simmons turned to leave the porch and walked down the front steps. Rogers grabbed her arm, prompting Simmons to respond not to touch her, the lawsuit says. Simmons yelled at people outside the home, while still on the steps, but moving away from the porch, asking where her kids were, at which point Beam grabbed her arm, according to court documents.
Beam told Simmons to put her hands behind her back, the lawsuit says.
"Ms. Simmons continued to yell that she did not do anything and that someone should call her mother to let her know what was going on," the complaint says.
After reaching the final step, Beam put his feet in between Simmons' feet and kicked her leg backward, causing her to fall forward onto her face in a patch of dirt in the yard, the lawsuit says.
"Ms. Simmons' head bounced off the ground and her face was cut open from the impact," according to the lawsuit.
Simmons alerted the officers to her injury, however, the lawsuit says they ignored her, handcuffing her and tightening the handcuffs to the point of discomfort and refusing to loosen them. Simmons was then placed in the back of a police cruiser for about an hour without any air conditioning, causing her to sweat, the lawsuit says.
Police eventually released Simmons with a summons to appear in court to answer for a citation accusing her of misconduct at an emergency, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The affidavit filed by Beam said Simmons refused to leave the porch, which the lawsuit says is contradicted by video evidence from Rogers' body camera footage.
After receiving treatment for her injuries, Simmons filed a complaint with Columbus police regarding Beam and Rogers' conduct and what she believed was the use of excessive force against her. The internal investigation found no evidence to support her allegations, according to the lawsuit.
The charge against Simmons was ultimately dismissed and has since been sealed, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
Beam has been an officer for 10 years, and Rogers has been a Columbus police officer for 13 years.
Columbus police referred all questions about the lawsuit to the City Attorney's office, which does not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit is seeking more than $75,000 for excessive force, malicious prosecution, assault and false arrest.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Teacher sues Columbus police alleging excessive force, false arrest
