Schenectady

The road rage incident that drew criminal charges forcing city police officer John Hotaling into early retirement last month has resulted in a lawsuit against him.

The suit alleges that his behavior during an altercation with Jeff Arnow and Arnow's grandson, Nicholas Meisner, amounted to negligence and caused them both severe emotional distress. They seek unspecified monetary damages from Hotaling.

The third passenger in the car — Jeff Arnow's son, Matthew — is not a plaintiff.

The incident in April 2013 led to two misdemeanor menacing charges and a plea deal in Glenville Town Court that called for Hotaling, 46, to retire from the force.

He was ordered to stay out of legal trouble and away from members of the Arnow family for six months, to perform 25 hours of community service and to undergo an anger-management evaluation and treatment, if necessary. Hotaling surrendered his work pistol but can apply for a weapon permit at a later date. The case was prosecuted by the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office to avoid a conflict of interest for Schenectady County.

Attorney Andrew Safranko, who represented Hotaling, said early Thursday afternoon that he and his client were unaware of the lawsuit.

"If John is served, he looks forward to defending himself, and finally letting the truth come out," said Safranko.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in state Supreme Court in Schenectady County, alleges that Hotaling was driving in his pickup truck on Maple Avenue behind Meisner, who was traveling at the speed limit while practicing his driving skills with his grandfather.

Hotaling began tailgating Meisner to get him to speed up or pull over before accelerating and crossing double yellow lines to pass the Arnows, according to the suit.

The document says Jeff Arnow grabbed the steering wheel from his 17-year-old-grandson so the car wouldn't skid off the road.

When the two vehicles stopped for a red light at Maple and Alplaus avenues, Hotaling approached Meisner in an "enraged and highly threatening" way that caused Meisner to be "terrorized and to reasonably fear that he was about to be killed or violently physically attacked" by Hotaling.

The Arnows were protecting Meisner when Hotaling "raised (his) gun and pointed it directly at the faces" of the father and son, "threatening their lives" before getting back into his truck and speeding away, according to the court papers.

Attorney Lance Hartwich of Schenectady, who represents Arnow and Meisner, said Thursday that "They are turning to the civil justice system in hopes that he will be held accountable, they will be compensated, and they want this to serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they are above the law. They are also concerned about the future and want any police force that may be considering hiring him to be aware of what happened."

On Thursday, Arnow said, "I would have felt more kindly toward him if he had the courage to admit what he did."

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson