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WILKES-BARRE — The city and one of its police officers are named as defendants in a civil suit filed by a woman who said her emotionally disturbed son was arrested for allegedly threatening other children with a plastic toy gun while playing at a public park last month.
The Luzerne County District Attorney’s office declined to approve any criminal charges against the 16-year-old boy identified as “D.A.,” the suit said.
But the boy’s mother, Kathryn Crafton, said he has been having flashbacks of police pointing guns at him and thinks the ice cream truck driving in the neighborhood is police with their sirens sounding.
Crafton and her son alleged violations of their constitutional rights of due process and against unlawful searches and seizures, as well as battery, assault and false arrest. They are seeking unspecified damages from the city of Wilkes-Barre and arresting officer Ronald Knorr in the suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Scranton.
Wilkes-Barre City Attorney Tim Henry said it is the city’s policy to not comment on pending litigation.
The suit arose from Knorr’s response to the Gordon Avenue park in Barney Farms around 1 p.m. on June 25.
According to the lawsuit:
At that time “D.A.” was playing “Army” with four other children brought there by their grandfather William Fleming, the suit said.
According to the suit: “D.A.” considered the other children aged 5, 6, 7 and 10, his “best friends.”
While holding the multi-colored gun with a bright orange tip, “D.A.” jumped from behind a tree and told his playmates, “Everybody get on the ground.”
Knorr arrived in his police vehicle with lights flashing and siren on, pulling onto the grass at the park.
Fleming approached Knorr and asked what was going on. But Knorr told him to shut up and get out of the way. The officer pointed to “D.A.,” saying “You, come here.”
“D.A.” did not have the gun because one of the other children placed it near the sliding board before Knorr’s arrival, the suit stated
The officer drew his gun on the unarmed “D.A.,” pushed him against the police vehicle and while holding his gun to the boy’s back, ordered him to put his hands on the hood. The boy complied and Knorr handcuffed the boy before patting him down and emptying his pockets.
The officer asked where the gun was and “D.A” told him by the sliding board. Fleming offered to retrieve it, but Knorr turned his gun on the grandfather who feared he was going to be killed in front of the children.
Other officers who arrived drew their guns on “D.A.” One of them yelled at the boy, “What is your major malfunction?”
Fleming tried to intervene but was told by police to get back. He called Crafton who arrived just as police were placing her handcuffed son in the back of Knorr’s vehicle. Knorr told her “D.A.” threatened a couple of kids with a gun and they called police.
Crafton was placed in a separate police vehicle and driven to Wilkes-Barre police headquarters.
Meanwhile, Fleming called police Chief Joseph Coffay (misspelled Coffee in the suit) who explained police were following protocol in their response to this particular call and acted as they did out of precaution.
Coffay also told Crafton that he personally thought “D.A.” did nothing wrong and the officers were following protocol.
Fleming was so upset about the arrest that he went to headquarters and wrote an incident report.
The suit, filed by the Dyller Law Firm in Wilkes-Barre, said the city’s policy and custom are “that after learning that they had treated a non-criminal, non-dangerous situation as if it were criminal and dangerous, police seize persons and attempt to charge them with crimes to justify their actions.”