EAST ST. LOUIS - Two individuals claim they were illegally detained after Cumberland County officers were sent to the wrong residence for a call involving a suicidal man.
Michael Orndorff and Rite Orsborn filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Cole M. Jackson, Ethan Wicke Joe Vogt and Daniel Hanley, alleging violation of the 8th and 14th Amendments.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs were at Orndorff's residence on Oct. 1, 2021, when the Raegon Miller called the Cumberland County 911 dispatch center, claiming Trevor Harris was attempting to commit suicide. The suit states that Harris has a history with law enforcement, and the defendants had been to his residence for a domestic disturbance. Harris is a 39-year- old male, while Orndorff is a 70-year-old male and Osborn is a 62-year-old female.
Miller allegedly gave detailed instructions as to where the address was located because it was in a rural area. Vogt arrived on scene first but allegedly gave the wrong directions to the other officers. The plaintiffs claim he failed to identify the caller or the person attempting to commit suicide. The dispatcher allegedly reported to the officers to look for a witness in the driveway and identified her vehicle. However, the officers arrived at Orndorff's residence, which had no car in the driveway, and Miller was not on the premises. The dispatcher also reported that Miller was in trailer behind the residence they were looking for, but there was no trailer at the plaintiff's residence.
The defendants allegedly knocked on Orndorff's door and instructed him to come forward.
"He did so in his underwear as he was preparing to go to bed," the suit states. "He was clearly not armed and was not Trevor Harris."
Orndorff allegedly told officers that he was not Harris and that there were not any problems at his residence. He claims the defendants pulled their firearms, restrained him, handcuffed him and forced him to the ground. They allegedly then instructed Orsborn to exit the residence. The plaintiffs claim they were "illegally detained for a period of time" and released. The defendants then left the residence.
The plaintiffs claim they were caused to suffer pain and emotional distress. They also claim their constitutional rights were violated and were otherwise damaged.
The plaintiffs seek an amount in excess of $5,000,000, plus punitive damages in excess of $5,000,000. They are represented by H. Kent Heller of Heller Holmes & Associates PC in Mattoon, Ill.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:22-cv-00183-JPG