Federal Lawsuit filed against former Riverton Police Officers Peterson and Summerson

Riverton, IL. (ECWd) –

On April 6, 2020, Steven Behl filed a Federal lawsuit naming the City of Riverton, and Police Officers Grant Peterson and Tricia Summerson (Langon), violated his civil rights by using excessive force, unreasonable seizure, and false arrest, arising out of an incident occurring on Sep 7, 2019.

The Complaint alleges the following:

• Officer Peterson violated Behl’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure by grabbing the plaintiff and pulling him from the passenger side of a truck without legal justification and without reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed or was about to be committed.
• Both Officers placed the plaintiff under arrest without warrant, probable cause, or legal justification.
• Both officers used excessive and unreasonable force by yanking the plaintiff out of the truck, punching him in the face and continuing to strike him while on top of him, and Officer Summerson kicked him in the back while Peterson was on top of him striking him.

Attorneys Louis J. Meyer and Daniel P. Kiss are attorneys for Plaintiff.

Earlier this year, Peterson was indicted on two counts of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct over a head-butting incident on Feb 5, 2020. He resigned from the police department after being placed on leave. Officer Langon (Summerson) was recommended for termination and later resigned over the same head-butting incident as Peterson.

Read the Complaint below:

.
Our work is funded entirely thru donations and we
ask that you consider donating at the below link.