Federal lawsuit claims sheriff and employees retaliated against Portage County man
A Portage County man has filed a federal lawsuit against the county's sheriff and two sheriff's office employees alleging retaliation over claims the man posted on Facebook.
The lawsuit, filed by William Lane in U.S. Sixth District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on May 6, names Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, Robert James and Michael Davis, along with Portage County, as defendants.
According to a complaint filed with the lawsuit, James is a corporal and Davis a captain with the sheriff's office.
Court records did not identify legal representation for the defendants as of May 30. A phone message seeking comment from the sheriff's office was not immediately returned.
The lawsuit was filed by William Lane, a Diamond resident in Palmyra Township. According to the 12-page complaint, Lane wrote a series of posts he called "The Bad Bruce Exhibit" on Facebook in which he accused Zuchowski, James, and Davis of being "dishonest, vindictive, incompetent, and corrupt."
Lane's posts, according to the complaint, included allegations of various acts of wrongdoing against Davis, Zuchowski and unnamed sheriff's office employees.
Lane also posted about a recently settled civil suit the cities of Kent, Ravenna and Streetsboro filed against the sheriff over the distribution of money and assets that had been owned by the defunct Portage County Drug Task Force that the cities and sheriff's office were members of; Zuchowski urging "supporters to record names and addresses of persons who supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential election;" and a claim that Zuchowski kept a "hit list" of people he saw as political enemies.
Lane also encouraged Portage County voters to support Zuchowski's opponent, Jon Barber, in the November election, during which Zuchowski ultimately won a second four-year term.
The complaint alleges that someone identifying himself as "Jonathan Porter" posted false allegations about Lane on a Facebook page entitled "Will Lane Exhibit," which has since been deleted. The allegations included that Lane is a narcotics user and dealer and a "woman beater." Also posted were Lane's phone number and email and home addresses, the complaint alleges.
The complaint alleges that "James, acting with Zuchowski's knowledge and consent, actually posted the 'Will Lane Exhibit,' and created Jonathan Porter to conceal James', and Zuchowski's involvement with the publication of the Will Lane Exhibit."
The complaint also alleges that "Davis, acting with the knowledge and consent of Zuchowski, contacted an Ohio State Agency to inquire about the possibility of cancelling Lane's license to grow industrial hemp." Lane is licensed by the state to grow hemp on his property for the production of legal CBD oil.
Lane's complaint alleges all of these actions were retaliation for Lane's posts, which the complaint asserts "are true," and therefore protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The complaint says that the alleged actions by the defendants "caused Lane to suffer substantial emotional and psychological distress."
The complaint alleges that the defendants retaliated against him for exercising his constitutional rights; Portage County is liable because it "created a culture of corruption in the Sheriff's Office, and permitted that culture of corruption to embed itself in the Sheriff's Office, and to grow;" and that Lane was libeled, slandered and defamed.
Lane is requesting a total of more than $5 million in punitive and compensatory damages, as well as court costs.
Lane previously sued Portage County and three sheriff's deputies in connection with an allegation that his civil rights were violated during an April 2023 traffic stop in Ravenna Township.
A federal judge dismissed the suit in April.
More: Federal judge dismisses hemp farmer's lawsuit against Portage County, sheriff's deputies
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage County man claims sheriff and employees retaliated against him
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