Police who ticketed an attorney for shouting at an officer are going to trial

BUFFALO, NY — A man who sued Buffalo police after he was ticketed for yelling at an officer to turn on his headlights can move forward with his legal action, an appeals court ruled.

Last week’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a ruling by a U.S. district judge in Buffalo who had dismissed the case. The new ruling sends the case back to the court for trial.

R. Anthony Rupp III, a civil rights attorney, said he did not plan to file a lawsuit after his December 2016 encounter with two police officers. He said he changed his mind after learning that the same officers were involved two months later in the arrest of an unarmed man who died of an asthma attack after struggling while handcuffed.

A 2017 investigation by the attorney general’s office found insufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges against officers Todd McAlister and Nicholas Parisi for the death of 20-year-old Wardel “Meech” Davis.

However, Rupp said he felt the need to stand up for the dead man. He sued the city, the police chief and the officers involved in his traffic stop, claiming false arrest, malicious prosecution and First Amendment retaliation. Rupp is demanding $1 and an admission that the officers acted inappropriately, he told The Buffalo News.

“When I saw that it was the same two officers involved in my incident, when they retaliated against me for (angry) them and Meech Davis (angry) them by resisting arrest, I moved forward with a lawsuit that I would never do that. have brought,” Rupp told the newspaper.

A Buffalo police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

Rupp’s contact with officers began around 8:30 p.m. on December 1, 2016, when he and his wife were leaving a downtown restaurant.

“Turn your lights on, (expletive),” Rupp shouted after seeing an approaching vehicle with its headlights off almost hitting two pedestrians.

It was only after McAlister pulled the vehicle over that Rupp noticed it was a police SUV, according to court records.

“You know you can get arrested for that,” McAlister said to Rupp through an open window.

Rupp responded that McAlister should not be driving at night without his headlights activated and told the officer that he almost caused an accident.

McAlister “then got out of his car and told Rupp that he had been detained,” the lawsuit said.

The situation escalated with the arrival of other officers, including Parisi, who denied Rupp’s request to issue McAlister a traffic ticket for driving without headlights. Instead, Rupp was issued a citation for violating the city’s noise ban. The citation was later dismissed at a hearing.

Rupp said a letter he wrote to the police chief the day after the encounter went unanswered.

“I wrote that letter because I thought these guys needed more training,” Rupp said. “They unnecessarily provoked an incident. They were in the wrong. They confronted me. They used the power of their badge to quote me.”

Attorneys for the city said in court documents that Rupp’s legal claims were not supported.