{"id":219969,"date":"2026-05-04T23:26:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/219969\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T23:26:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:26:47","slug":"lawsuit-claims-brooklyn-police-ignored-warning-signs-before-officer-punched-handcuffed-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/219969\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawsuit claims Brooklyn police ignored warning signs before officer punched handcuffed woman"},"content":{"rendered":"

BROOKLYN, Ohio (WOIO) \u2014 A Maple Heights man has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Brooklyn Police<\/a> Department, the police chief and five officers, claiming the department ignored early warning signs about a sergeant who was later fired for punching<\/a> a handcuffed woman.<\/p>\n

\"WomanWoman plans lawsuit, breaks silence after being repeatedly punched in face by Brooklyn cop.(Brooklyn Police Department)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a story 19 Investigates has been following<\/a> since<\/a> May 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter seeing your story, I realized that this was an excessive force case,\u201d said attorney Anthony Jordan.<\/p>\n

Juan Wyckoff filed the lawsuit against the department and former Sergeant Paul Stein on April 29. <\/p>\n

The suit alleges Stein assaulted Wyckoff on April 30 of last year.<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit \u2014 Stein, who was off-duty \u2014 hit Wyckoff\u2019s Kia on I-90 in Westlake and then fled at more than 100 miles an hour in his Chevy Silverado.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe literally tried to run me off the highway,\u201d Wyckoff said.<\/p>\n

Allegations of reckless driving and alcohol use<\/p>\n

Wyckoff said he followed Stein \u2014 using his cellphone to record him driving recklessly through residential streets, running red lights and weaving in and out of traffic.<\/p>\n

Stein eventually led Wyckoff to the Brooklyn Police Department where he reported what occurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cA cop hit my car and tried to run!\u201d Wyckoff can be seen telling officers on bodycam video.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges Stein was driving recklessly and was under the influence. <\/p>\n

Bodycam footage shows Wyckoff telling officers he smelled alcohol on Stein\u2019s breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you all suppose to drug test people after they get into an accident? He needs to get drug tested and alcohol and all that. I swear I smell some liquor on his breath,\u201d Wyckoff said.<\/p>\n

There is no record to show Stein was ever tested.<\/p>\n

Surveillance cameras were rolling when Wyckoff followed Stein to the employee entrance. <\/p>\n

Video shows Stein shoving and kicking the man as Wyckoff\u2019s sandal gets stuck under the door. <\/p>\n

The lawsuit claims that is assault and battery under Ohio law.<\/p>\n

The chief investigated and gave Stein a written reprimand for traffic violations \u2014 but cleared him of assault.<\/p>\n

The Westlake Police Department cited Stein for improper lane change but did not charge him with hit-and-run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that enough?\u201d reporter Mike Mason asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that\u2019s not enough,\u201d Wyckoff said.<\/p>\n

Attorneys question department\u2019s response<\/p>\n

Wyckoff is represented by three attorneys: Keith Hansbrough<\/a>, Clarissa Smith<\/a> and Anthony Jordan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the management, or the chain of command and the Brooklyn police, seem to be the only people in the country that don\u2019t see this as police brutality,\u201d Hansbrough said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf what had been done with Wyckoff was done appropriately, then we wouldn\u2019t have had the situation with the second person,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Five months after the hit-and-run, the department fired Stein for punching a handcuffed woman<\/a> in the face after she spit at him. <\/p>\n

\"BrooklynBrooklyn police officer charged with assault after punching handcuffed woman.(Brooklyn Police Department)<\/p>\n

It happened last September after she was arrested on an outstanding warrant for aggravated menacing. <\/p>\n

Stein was then charged<\/a> with misdemeanor assault<\/a> \u2014 he has pleaded not guilty and the case is ongoing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if anybody else had done what he did, they would be charged with a felony,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Personnel file shows prior concerns<\/p>\n

19 Investigates obtained a copy of Stein\u2019s personnel file<\/a> from the Brooklyn Police Department. <\/p>\n

In a 2023 performance review, his lieutenant said he needed to work on two things: de-escalating situations and reducing the number of citizen complaints.<\/p>\n

\"PaulPaul Stein’s 2023 Performance Review.(Brooklyn Police Department)<\/p>\n

In March, 19 Investigates requested copies of the incidents referenced in Stein\u2019s performance review (above) but still has not received them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we can\u2019t get those records from the city of Brooklyn,\u201d Hansbrough said.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges the police department has shown a custom and widespread practice of encouraging or tolerating the use of excessive force. <\/p>\n

\u201cI also think there should be an investigation launched into how the police department in Brooklyn functions,\u201d Hansbrough said.<\/p>\n

The suit claims Stein and four other officers illegally intimidated<\/a> Wyckoff when he tried to report the incident.<\/p>\n

Those officers include Cindy Eschweiler, Morley Brenenstuhl, Brianna Molnar and Reynaldo Monroy.<\/p>\n

Police Chief Scott Mielke is also named as a defendant. <\/p>\n

Mielke\u2019s accused of violating Wyckoff\u2019s civil rights when he told him he would have pulled a gun on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you how I would have handled this, I would have pulled my gun out,\u201d Mielke can be heard telling Wyckoff on bodycam footage.<\/p>\n

On April 29 \u2014 two days after the lawsuit was filed \u2014 Chief Mielke announced his retirement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His career at the Brooklyn Police Department lasted 31 years.<\/p>\n

Wyckoff\u2019s lawsuit also accuses officers of obstruction<\/a> of justice, conspiracy<\/a> and tampering<\/a> with evidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just kind of confused why nothing was taken seriously about what he did,\u201d Wyckoff said.<\/p>\n

Stein, his attorney<\/a> and the Brooklyn Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. <\/p>\n

The woman from the September incident plans to file a lawsuit this summer.<\/p>\n

Need an investigation? Contact 19 Investigates<\/a> with your request.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BROOKLYN, Ohio (WOIO) \u2014 A Maple Heights man has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Brooklyn Police…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[49078,86639,98,100,99,86632,86637,86634,49080,49081,86635,86638,9,24,49079,63,28516,86633,79460,86636,79458,49086,86640,49077],"class_list":["post-219969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-19-investigates","tag-brianna-molnar","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-brooklyn-police-department-lawsuit","tag-cindy-eschweiler","tag-civil-rights-lawsuit-ohio","tag-cleveland-investigation","tag-cleveland-investigations","tag-handcuffed-woman-punched","tag-morley-brenenstuhl","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news-investigation","tag-nyc","tag-ohio-news","tag-paul-stein-officer-assault","tag-police-abuse","tag-police-chief-scott-mielke","tag-police-excessive-force","tag-reporter-mike-mason","tag-reynaldo-monroy","tag-woio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}