October 19, 1996|By Melody Simmons | Melody Simmons,SUN STAFF
A man who says he was held at gunpoint on Interstate 695 by an off-duty Baltimore police officer after a minor traffic collision has sued the officer, Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and city police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier, seeking $28 million in damages.
Andrew J. Paladino of Reisterstown filed the suit in Baltimore County Circuit Court yesterday. He charges that Officer Tarodd Shawndre Jacobs assaulted and battered him in rush-hour traffic Oct. 9 near the Falls Road Bridge on the Beltway after Officer Jacobs' car "superficially" struck his vehicle as it inched along in a traffic jam.
This week, criminal charges of assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and improper use of a weapon were filed against Jacobs in Baltimore County. Those charges are under review by the county state's attorney's office.
Jacobs, 24, a police officer for two years who is assigned to the Southwest District, was suspended with pay Monday pending the outcome of the criminal charges and a Police Department investigation of the incident.
Paladino's suit charges that Jacobs pursued Paladino on the Beltway, aimed a gun at him, then pulled him from his car. Paladino charged that Jacobs forced him to lie on the Beltway, where Jacobs held a gun to Paladino's head and threatened his life until a Maryland State Police trooper arrived. At that time, Jacobs hid his weapon, the suit alleges.
The suit also alleges false imprisonment, and negligent hiring and entrustment of the law by Schmoke and Frazier. Claiming emotional distress, Paladino seeks $7 million in compensatory damages and $21 million in punitive damages.
Jacobs did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.
Robert W. Weinhold Jr., city police spokesman, declined to comment on the civil charges yesterday.
Pub Date: 10/19/96
