A woman reportedly injured by a Cape Coral police officer while in custody in 2008 plans to file a lawsuit against the city over the incident in the coming months.
Attorney Jon Herskowitz, who is representing Brittany Lynn Sposito, notified the city in February of his and his client’s intent to file suit after providing the city with a reasonable time period to investigate and evaluate their claim.
State statute dictates that after filing the notice of intent, parties must wait six months before filing a lawsuit. Herskowitz said Wednesday that he and Sposito intend to file the suit when that six-month period has passed.
On May 20, 2008, Officer Georgeann Lytle was trying to transfer Sposito, who was 18 at the time, from one holding cell to another following a DUI arrest when the teen reportedly struck Lytle in the throat with her elbow.
“As this time, I put her in an arm bar, using the booking room exit door as counter pressure, where I kept her positioned until she could be secured in handcuffs,” Lytle wrote in a report to police supervisors one month later.
Sposito sustained a bruise on the side of her face from the actions.
In a June 2008 review of the incident, police supervisors found that “the level of force used was within policy” and “Lytle’s actions were objectively reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances confronting her” then.
Herskowitz argued that one only needs to look at the surveillance video of the incident to tell that there was no basis for that level of force.
“You only need to look at the video to make that determination,” he said.
The only issue police supervisors had was that a use of force form had not been completed at the time of arrest, when the “alleged” injury occurred.
Also in June, Sposito’s mother contacted the police regarding the incident. She filed a complaint, had photographs taken of Sposito’s injury to be given to CCPD’s Internal Affairs, and requested a copy of the surveillance video.
“I don’t know if it was formal or informal,” he said of the complaint.
Sposito’s mother was reportedly discouraged and advised that Internal Affairs could not investigate until all criminal charges were closed.
“To allow a serious complaint to go uninvestigated until the criminal charges are complete carries a host of problems,” Herskowitz wrote in the February notice of intent.
“Witness accounts become old, victims will not complain out of fear the officers will retaliate in the criminal case or worse, perjure themselves to avoid repercussions within the department,” he reported.
Herskowitz noted that Sposito’s mother was told earlier in February that there was no investigation, no video and no photos of the incident when she contacted the department to ask about the investigation into the incident.
According to police documents, Cpt. David Newlan with the Professional Standards Bureau was contacted by Sposito’s mother on Feb. 4 to initiate an internal affairs investigation in reference to the accusation that Lytle used excessive force in 2008.
Apart from the “initial request,” police were unable to reach Sposito or her mother, and did not receive any additional information regarding the claim.
“Due to the absence of further information in reference to the events on May 30, 2008, and the lack of further contact by the complainant, it has been determined that there is insufficient cause to sustain the allegation,” Newlan wrote.
“We obviously disagree with that,” Herskowitz said Wednesday.
He added that the investigation should have been done back in 2008.
According Lt. Tony Sizemore, spokesman for the CCPD, “it is vital” for investigators to speak with all involved parties during an investigation.
“When she made the complaint, we needed her to come in,” he said. “She just wouldn’t return any calls.”
He added that it is hard to investigate and sustain a complaint when those who were involved in the incident will not talk to investigators.
“There is no next step,” Sizemore said. “It’s closed.”
This was not the first time that Lytle has been the subject of an internal affairs investigation. Last year, officials determined that Lytle ordered a stop traffic without probable cause, using her “position” for private gain.
Lytle reportedly ordered two officers to conduct the stop on two vehicles, one of which was reportedly being driven by her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend. Lytle told investigators that she thought that the woman was talking about her online. Lytle said she thought that she wanted to say something to the woman.
The city later paid out $17,000 to four of the three people stopped.
Lytle has been with the Cape police since June 2001.