SYLVANIA, Ohio — An Adrian woman is suing the Sylvania Township Police Department and two of its officers for $30 million for allegedly using excessive force during an incident on June 5, 2020.
A complaint by Caitlin Taylor's lawyers has been filed in the Northern Federal Court of Ohio accusing the department of battery, assault, violation of the Constitution, and negligence, or a conscious disregard for rights.
Taylor was a grocery delivery driver at the time of the incident, trying to make a delivery to a house off of McCord Road when the officers pulled alongside her with sirens off on the belief she had expired plates.
Taylor's lawyer, Anthony J. Richardson II, shared dash cam video taken of the incident.
In the video, Taylor, not yet seeing the parked cruiser behind her, started to back out of the driveway. Officer John Tanner can be heard demanding that she turns off the vehicle multiple times.
As Taylor puts the vehicle in park, Tanner can be heard telling dispatch he's stepping out of the vehicle.
According to the complaint, Tanner then draws his weapon and points it at Taylor as he orders her to throw out her keys while keeping her hands up at the same time.
Despite being confused by the commands, Taylor eventually does step out of the vehicle. The video shows Tanner quickly taking her to the ground, as she demands answers for why this is happening.
Officer Michael Wyatt then joins in the arrest, at one point putting Taylor in a headlock as she screams out that she is pregnant.
At the time of the incident, Taylor was charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. However, both charges were dropped by a Sylvania Municipal Court judge.
Now Taylor, through her lawyers, is seeking what they call justice. Her lawyer issued a statement regarding the incident, saying in part:
"At all times, the officers were acting under color of law, and the mental and emotional harm they've caused, without legal justification to do so, will be long or forever lasting for her and her family," Richardson writes. "Mrs. Taylor and her family want to be made whole and hold the authorities who abused their power to the fullest extent of the law."
WTOL 11 reached out to the Sylvania Township Police Department for comment and the disciplinary records of the two officers in question, but did not yet receive those records at the time of this report.
Taylor's lawyers are seeking a jury in this trial. A start date has yet to be announced, but WTOL 11 will be speaking to Taylor on Monday to hear her intentions in this case.