YOUNGSTOWN — A Campbell native claims city officials unlawfully arrested and jailed him two years ago, accusing him of having personnel records belonging to the former city mayor believed to have been stolen, then posting them online — a charge that was ultimately dropped.
A new civil lawsuit first filed in Mahoning County last month on behalf of Jorge Rodrigues, an Akron man who previously lived in Campbell, alleges Campbell authorities maliciously prosecuted the then-52-year-old man for allegedly obtaining a nearly 20-year-old psychological evaluation of former Campbell mayor Nick Phillips in 2019.
Phillips at the time was up for re-election for his second term as mayor, which he ultimately won.
“Mr. Rodrigues’ arrest was motivated by Mayor Phillips’ desire to retaliate against Mr. Rodrigues for re-posting information about the mayor which the mayor felt was damaging,” the complaint reads, adding that Phillips’ psychological evaluation found him to be unfit to serve as a police officer.
Phillips had at one time used the record to support his claim for government disability benefits, according to the civil complaint.
That record was allegedly retained by the Campbell Police Department. The suit claims it was first posted online by former Poland Village Police Chief Russ Beatty Jr. in spring 2019, during Phillips’ re-election run.
A city councilperson in 2019 reportedly notified Phillips of Beatty’s post. Phillips then reported to the city police department that the...
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