Jeffrey Lihosit Mesa Police Misconduct Case
Mesa officer to Jeffrey Lihosit, “I was about to punch him in the face”
Mesa Police Abuse of Power – The Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm represented Mr. Jeffrey Lihosit for civil rights violations and other injuries arising from an incident occurring on October 30, 2014, and involving two City of Mesa police officers.
Mesa Officer to Jeffrey Lihosit, “I was about to punch him in the Face”
While Mr. Lihosit stood peacefully in front of his home, he was threatened with being punched in the face and then “lit up” with a taser “stun gun” by the City of Mesa police officers. Lihosit’s ex-wife called the police on him for texting her. After their divorce, a court order of protection said he’s only allowed to communicate with her through email. Two officers responded to speak with Lihosit: Officers Jason Flam and Patrick Carroll. The incident began when one City of Mesa Police officer erroneously believed Mr. Lihosit referred to him as “ridiculous.”
It began with a simple misunderstanding when the officers asked Lihosit to read them back some of the text messages and emails on his cellphone. The first line of one of the messages begins, “This is ridiculous just like you.” Lihosit reads the phrase and Officer Carroll misunderstands and thinks Lihosit is saying that to him. After it’s explained that Lihosit is just reading the message, Carroll said “I was going to say. I was about to punch him in the face.”
After the incident, the video also records both officers multiple times denying that Officer Carroll “threatened” to punch him in the face. Lihosit then asks twice, “Did you say you were about to punch me in the face?” That’s when Officer Flam pulls out a Taser and points it at Lihosit, claiming that he’s walking toward Officer Carroll. Lihosit then asks to speak to a supervisor. He’s then told to get on his knees and is arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for violating the court order. He is set to go to trial in the next few weeks.
“The whole thing was wrong,” said Jeff Lihosit. “It ended up with me going to jail, being threatened, a Taser pointed at me and embarrassed in front of all my neighbors. My kids were watching this from an upstairs window.”
The Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm takes legitimate civil rights violations very seriously and plans to pursue many such cases in the future.
