In August 2023, we brought you a story about Jasper Police making a traffic stop and arresting 52-year-old Samuel Hrynecwicz from Dunlap. Now, he is suing the Town of Jasper and two officers for multiple reasons.
The multi-million-dollar suit charges the officers and the Town of Jasper with these counts:
- Violation of 4th Amendment – arrest without probable cause
- Excessive force
- Municipal liability
- False arrest
- Assault and battery
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Malicious prosecution
In addition to compensation for emotional and physical distress, the lawsuit asks for a jury trial.
One year ago, Jasper Police held a press conference and stated that after the vehicle was stopped for running a stop sign near Parkridge West Hospital on Hwy 28, the officers approached the car. When they looked inside the car, they saw a weapon they said looked like a semi-automatic rifle. The occupants were asked to get out of the car. The driver did, but the passenger, a male passenger, refused and did not identify himself.
Officers are heard on the body cam asking numerous times for the man to get out of the vehicle. The officers used pepper spray, a Taser, and a palm strike. Jasper Police says the palm strike is taught at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy as a way to control a person who is resisting, but the man continued to resist. After a period of time, officers were able to physically remove the man from the vehicle. Hrynecwicz was placed on the ground and cuffed. He was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail and is charged with Two counts of Assault on a Police Officer, Resisting, Stop, Halt, Frisk, and giving a False Report (giving another person’s name instead of his own).
It was later discovered the rifle was actually an air-soft gun made to look like a semi-automatic rifle.
District Attorney Courtney Lynch concluded that the use of force utilized by the officers was lawful and in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Jasper Police Department. The DA added that the presence of what appeared to be a firearm similar to the weapons used by swat teams gave the officers call to ask Hrynecwicz to step out of the vehicle.
The Town of Jasper is unable to comment on pending litigation.
Click here to read the about the litigation: Lawsuit against the Town of Jasper
