Vanessa Junkin

vjunkin@dmg.gannett.com

Darryle Smith was pulled over for a traffic stop in Salisbury. He gave one officer his license and registration. Another officer pointed a gun at him and his two friends who were in the car, he said.

"We have not been told why we're being stopped, but there's a gun in our face," Smith said.

Smith and friends Julian Washington and Brian Louck were searched in the early morning of Aug. 24, along with the car, and nothing illegal was found, Smith said. They still didn't know why the car had been stopped. Smith ended up with a traffic violation warning for failing to give his turn signal continuously during the last 100 feet of travel before turning.

Smith, 21, of Bryans Road, Maryland, Louck, 20, of Edgewater, Maryland and Washington, 21, of Gambrills, Maryland, have filed a lawsuit against Salisbury Police Officer Justin Aita, the Salisbury Police Department and the city of Salisbury.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday. It was the third lawsuit in a month to be filed against the Salisbury Police Department and Officer Justin Aita. The lawyers representing Smith, Washington and Louck are James Otway and Luke Rommel, and Rommel is also representing the other two sets of plaintiffs who filed lawsuits against the police department and Aita in September.

When reached by phone about the lawsuit, Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton did not want to answer questions, but he did say that it's an ongoing lawsuit with the same lawyer and the same police officer.

The Daily Times also reached out to Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan. Ireton responded on her behalf, saying via email they wouldn't comment on pending litigation.

The case

Smith, Washington and Louck allege against all three defendants in this case that:

• Their Constitutional rights –– including the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures –– were violated;

• that excessive force was used;

• and that there was a false and unlawful arrest.

The plaintiffs also allege negligence on behalf of the Salisbury Police Department and the city of Salisbury.

"The Defendants breached their duty to the Plaintiffs by retaining Officer Aita and continuing to encourage and allow him to endanger the public, without any reasonable or safe supervision," the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs are seeking at least $75,000 on each count, plus punitive damages and the costs of the lawsuit.

The whole traffic stop took about 40 minutes, the lawsuit states. The traffic violation warning states the stop was in the area of Pryor Street at Roger Street.

The lawsuit says there was no lawful reason for the traffic stop Aita made. It states that Aita was the officer who pulled over Smith's car, and the other officer was the one who pulled out the gun –– the lawsuit alleges it was at Aita's direction.

Rommel said the other officer is not named in the lawsuit because they don't know his identity: He said he will be named once they do.

Smith said the situation has made him worried about his personal welfare in daytime or nighttime hours, because he has to worry about both criminals and the police.

"I don't feel safe," he said.

He also said any potential accusations could have affected his job. Washington and Louck said they were also concerned about anything that could potentially tarnish their futures.

All three are Salisbury University students; Smith and Washington are seniors and Louck is a junior.

Rommel said he and Smith met at the beginning of the school year about the situation and Rommel didn't even know who the officer involved was until about three weeks later. He said he would have taken the case if it didn't involve Aita.

He said he added the city of Salisbury as a defendant in this case because he said the misconduct is systemic rather than isolated.

"They have been on notice for some time now that they have a danger," Rommel said. "And they've shown no willingness to change."

Third suit against specific officer

The two other lawsuits filed earlier in September each allege excessive force by the Salisbury Police Department and Aita.

In one, the defendants are Alexandra Francois of Salisbury and Nathalie Francois of Salisbury, the mother of 15-year-old Renaldo Mesadieu. Mesadieu alleges Aita beat him after he was put in handcuffs in an Aug. 11 incident. Mesadieu is facing juvenile charges in the incident and Alexandra Francois is facing charges including second-degree assault.

In the other, Curtis Adams, Travis Guthrie and Abdi Geleta, who were all SU students at the time, brought a lawsuit relating to a May 4 incident in the area of Pat's Pizzeria and the SU tunnel. Each face charges including failure to obey a lawful order.

Smith said he doesn't want something like what happened to him and his friends to happen to anyone else.

Rommel shared a similar sentiment.

"They need to stop needlessly endangering the public and it should be a simple fix," Rommel said.

vjunkin@dmg.gannett.com

410-845-4639

On Twitter @VanessaJunkin