Federal lawsuit targets police handling of Joshua Rohrer case

A once-homeless veteran who says he was wrongly arrested by police in October and whose service dog was shot with a taser during that arrest, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming Gastonia police violated his constitutional rights and relentlessly mocked him on social media when he tried to bring attention to his plight.

The lawsuit was filed June 30 in U.S. District Court by 39-year-old combat veteran Joshua Rohrer, who served in Iraq and Kuwait in 2004 and 2005. In it, Rohrer accuses Gastonia police of mistreating him during an arrest in October 2021 and harassing him afterward.

Rohrer was arrested Oct. 13 on allegations of panhandling and resisting arrest. He has maintained that the police officers involved used excessive force. Police also tased his service dog, Sunshine Rae. After Rohrer's arrest, Sunshine escaped from where she was being held while he was in jail, ran into traffic, and was killed.

The charges in the Oct. 13 incident were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

The federal lawsuit names Officer Cierra Brooks, former Officer Maurice Taylor III, the city of Gastonia Police spokesman Rick Goodale, and an unnamed person.

It accuses Brooks and Taylor, the officers involved in Rohrer's arrest, of using excessive force and failing to accommodate his disabilities, which include post-traumatic stress disorder. It accuses Taylor of belittling Rohrer for being disabled and unable to work. It also alleges that Taylor's tasing of Sunshine was "unreasonable seizure," and that Brooks laughed about it.

The lawsuit accuses the city of Gastonia of subjecting Rohrer to "a relentless campaign of harassment, abuse and defamation," posting "hundreds" of "disparaging, false and taunting public comments" using the Gastonia Police Department's Facebook page and at times even commenting on posts published by Rohrer.

"The City’s comments attack Mr. Rohrer’s character, lie about what happened that day, and intentionally mislead the public about the fact that the criminal charges against Mr. Rohrer were dismissed. The City has also encouraged members of the public to harass Mr. Rohrer online, even after Mr. Rohrer left Gastonia to escape the City’s abuse. Today, the posts and comments continue, causing Mr. Rohrer immense psychological harm and reputational damage," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit included copies of posts published by Brooks, as well as Facebook comments by magistrate Mark Oakes, who set Rohrer's bond at $3,000.

According to the complaint, Brooks wrote on Facebook, “Gaston County people in such an uproar about that [expletive] dog getting tased without knowing the facts but where was the same energy for the Gastonia officers that were attacked a couple of days ago and almost lost their lives??? I’ll wait.”

In another post, the complaint alleges, Brooks wrote that people defending Rohrer were “dumb as hell" still talking about that dog incident supporting him. She added that Rohrer was “clearly in the wrong,” and then wrote, “but whatever … Y’all still bothered and I’m still living, counting down the days until I’m at Mardi Gras.”

Oakes made his own series of statements on Facebook, according to the complaint. On Oct. 29, 2021, he made comments on the Gastonia Police Department's Facebook page, writing in one, "You weren’t even there so what make your opinion worth anything? You are low information loud mouth too I see."

In another comment on the police department's page, he wrote, "Low information loud mouths are always a problem in society. You just regurgitate what one or two people who weren’t even there are saying. Sheep, you weren’t even there so I’m going to dismiss your lack of knowledge. Veterans are also required to follow law and ordinances. They don’t get a free pass. In fact they should be in the front of the line of law abiding citizens."

After Rohrer pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge, the Gastonia Police Department Facebook page posted about his plea, writing in one comment that Rohrer could have had "his day in court," but instead, he agreed to a plea deal, which resulted in the dismissal of the Oct. 13 charges. In another, the police department's page responded to a critic of their treatment of Rohrer, writing, "the legal system disagrees with your assessment."

In yet another comment, the police department asked why, if Rohrer's rights were violated, no civil suit had been filed.

"If this is such a clear violation against the Constitution and civil rights, there should have been several attorneys willing to take this case pro-bono, right?" the comment read. "But yet, that hasn't happened. Perhaps you should ask Mr. Rohrer why (he) hasn't pursued anything further."

The lawsuit alleges Rick Goodale and another unnamed person were responsible for publishing the comments on Facebook on behalf of the police department, and in doing so, that they defamed Rohrer in retaliation for his public comments and protests.

Additionally, the lawsuit states that the city of Gastonia in general is hostile toward people experiencing homelessness. It references the city's closure in 2022 of a homeless shelter operated by Faith, Hope and Love Community Enrichment Ministry, and the fact that the city is now fining the ministry around $60,000 for zoning violations related to unauthorized trailers on its current property, which is now the site of an enormous tent city.

"It is a priority for the city and for the police department to run the homeless population out of Gastonia," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also targets the anti-panhandling ordinance under which Rohrer was arrested, which makes it a crime to “stand, sit or loiter in any street or highway, including the shoulders or median strip but excluding sidewalks, and to solicit or accept contributions from the occupants of any stopped vehicle.”

The lawsuit calls the ordinance "an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of speech under the federal and state constitutions."

“The Gastonia police officers who arrested Mr. Rohrer with gratuitous force and tased Sunshine did so with full knowledge that he has military service–related PTSD and is reliant on his service dog to function,” said attorney Elizabeth Cruikshank, senior counsel with the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center. “Mr. Rohrer’s life will never be the same, but this lawsuit seeks justice for the lasting physical and emotional harm the Gastonia police inflicted on him and for the loss of Sunshine. And it will send a message to Gastonia and to police departments everywhere that they will face accountability for these kinds of abuse.”

Rohrer said in a statement that Oct. 13, 2021, was one of the worst days of his life.

"Even almost two years later, I am still suffering from the harm caused by GPD and its officers. My arrest and the loss of Sunshine affected my physical capabilities and caused irreparable damage to my ability to manage my PTSD," he said. "Contrary to Officer Brooks' statement on Facebook, Sunshine wasn't just a (expletive) dog. Sunshine was my lifeline in this world."

"In the time since my arrest, the city of Gastonia, the Gastonia Police Department, Officer Brooks, Mr. Goodale and others have used social media to abuse and harass me and gaslight the public about the facts and my personal history. I deserve better than to be bullied and disparaged just for exercising my right to free speech," Rohrer said. "And the lawsuit is also an effort to address this misconduct and discourage the government from acting in such an unconstitutional manner."

A spokesperson for Gastonia Police said the department had not yet received formal notification of the lawsuit on Monday. They otherwise declined to comment.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Federal lawsuit targets police handling of Joshua Rohrer case