WILMINGTON — Nearly $300,000 was awarded in a settlement to two local men who were arrested at an April Wilmington City Council meeting.
According to WCPO in Cincinnati, Darrell Petrey, of Clarksville, and Tony Thomas, of Wilmington, were each awarded $297,500 on Wednesday in their federal case against the City of Wilmington, Wilmington Police Chief Ron Fithen, former Council President Mark McKay, and outgoing Mayor John Stanforth.
The News Journal’s request for a copy of the settlement from the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio – Western Division was not immediately met.
According to the complaint filed in August, the two were seeking “damages for the unlawful restraint, retaliation, and malicious prosecution of two citizens for engaging in protected critical speech of their elected officials during public participation during a Wilmington City Council meeting.”
The two were arrested at the April 20 Wilmington City Council meeting after making remarks during the meeting about Stanforth. They were charged with allegedly disrupting a public meeting. The cases against the two were dismissed in Clinton County Municipal Court in July.
The two have criticized Stanforth and the police for their handling of the Casey Pitzer death case. The two, along with Casey’s father Greg Pitzer, believe her 2013 death was a murder and not an accidental drowning.
The respective attorneys in the case — Mattew Miller-Novak for the plaintiffs and defensive counsel Justin Burns — did not immediately respond to the News Journal’s request for comment.
