A Minerva chiropractor filed a federal lawsuit against Minerva and its police department.

A local chiropractor filed a federal lawsuit against the village and its police department, alleging instances of “harassment” from law enforcement officers.

According to the lawsuit, filed by Dr. Robert Nichols and his wife, Rachel Byfus Nichols, the village police “harassed, humiliated and charged members of the plaintiffs’ family with various offenses for the sole purpose of harassment.”

This practice, according to the lawsuit, occurred during a three-month period in 2013. The lawsuit is in U.S. District Court in Akron.

The defendants are the village of Minerva, its police department and “Officer John Doe.”

“It is fairly unclear to me what they are complaining about,” said Cleveland-area attorney John McLandrich, representing Minerva in this lawsuit. “Anybody can file anything, but whether it stays is another matter. It is unclear what they are complaining about, and that is the basis of our motion to dismiss.”

The Nicholses hired a Cleveland attorney, Harvey Bruner, to file their lawsuit. Bruner, when contacted, said he intends to amend the lawsuit to spell out specific allegations.

Nichols said he started drawing attention of the village police after he sponsored a billboard advertisement which mentioned there could be some unsolved rape cases in Minerva.

“We initiated a public awareness campaign about young disadvantaged and disenfranchised women being taken advantage of in Minerva,” Nichols said.

The lawsuit claims the plaintiffs were “deprived ...of their civil rights.”

“It wasn’t just one police officer, it was multiple officers,” Nichols said. “What happened to our family should never have happened. There were a lot of what we believe to be trumped up charges.”

The lawsuit seeks $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

Reach Malcolm at 330-580-8305 or malcolm.hall@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: mhallREP