Martin County Sheriff and former deputy Steven O'Leary face federal civil rights violation lawsuit

STUART — Days after former Martin County Sheriff's Deputy Steven O'Leary was ordered to prison for 13 years, he’s facing a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by more than a dozen people he either falsely arrested or wrongly accused of drug possession, court records show.

O’Leary, 31, during a Dec. 2 sentencing, was found guilty of 50 felonies, including multiple counts of official misconduct, falsifying arrest affidavits and statements, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence, battery and petty theft.

O'Leary in court told his sentencing judge an addiction to drugs motivated him to falsely arrested dozens of people on drug charges during 2018 traffic stops. He was fired from the Sheriff's Office in January 2019 following an investigation.

Incarcerated: Former Martin County Sheriff's Deputy Steven O'Leary ordered to prison for falsifying drug arrests

Records show during his 11 months working at the Sheriff's Office, made 89 drug-related arrests. He arrested 26 people accused of having drugs on them who either did not, or, who did not have the actual amount or type of drugs O'Leary said they did, according to his arrest warrant.

In one case, the substance was a powder commonly used to treat headaches; another was a sand-based material having no presence of any illegal narcotics.

The Sheriff’s Office and O’Leary were already facing several lawsuits filed after his arrest. At least a dozen civil complaints have settled, according to attorney Lance Richard, who filed this latest suit with attorney Jordan Wagner, both of Stuart.

The new plaintiffs, seeks money damages in excess of $75,000, include 10 Martin County residents, one from St. Lucie County, one from Brevard County and two Alabama residents.

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“This case did not happen in a vacuum. This case happened in an environment that we believe was encouraged by the Sheriff’s Office,” Richard said Wednesday during a media briefing with his clients.

“We hope to shed more light on their policies and procedures and try to really redress not only the injuries of these people, but the way they handle business over there.”

Plaintiff Bradley Martin Wednesday said his arrest under falsified evidence tarnished his professional, family and social life.

“Personally, it’s been a nightmare,” said Martin, 27, of Stuart. “My job was taken from me. My social life was kind of ruined. And I did not look great at all in my family’s eyes.”

Samuel Palmieri, 31 of Melbourne Beach, too, said he copes with PTSD and O’Leary’s arrest isn’t enough to change that.

“Every time I drive, I deal with it. Every time I come in contact with other police officers, I deal with it,” Palmieri said. “This is something I will probably have to deal with the rest of my life because of somebody’s poor choices.”

Palmieri, who testified for the state during O’Leary’s sentencing, said he now spends $15,000 on a psychologist and therapy each year. His jail bond fees cost him around $60,000 after his false arrest, he said.

The 59-page federal complaint accuses O’Leary and Martin County Sheriff William Snyder of multiple civil rights violations. Other claims include false arrest, false imprisonment, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and malicious prosecution.

Attorney Wagner on Wednesday said other Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies were often with O’Leary, or called to the scene as he detained people and falsified evidence.

“There were always other officers there to corroborate what he was doing,” he said. “This wasn’t a rogue officer. There were other officers there who are either complicit or purposefully ignorant of what was going on … it’s just part of the overall atmosphere of the Sheriff’s Office that we want to be corrected.”

False arrests

The lawsuit claims on May 3, 2018, O’Leary began “falsifying official statements, tampering with evidence, falsifying and/or planting evidence and falsely arresting citizens in order to increase his narcotics arrests.”

“O’Leary continued to engage in this pattern of misconduct … through Dec. 30, 2018, which noticeably escalated to more serious charges and arrests,” the lawsuit stated.

Sheriff: Former deputy accused of falsifying and tampering with drug evidence acted alone

Court papers detailed what happened as O’Leary encountered and arrested each of the 14 plaintiffs, including Grayson Kyte, 34, of Jensen Beach, who also testified at O’Leary’s sentencing.

According to the suit, Kyte on Aug. 7, 2018 was stopped by O’Leary on the pretense of an improperly displayed license plate and “an odor of burning cannabis” detected by a “highly trained bloodhound” as he traveled behind Kyte.

O’Leary is accused of conducting an illegal search of Kyte’s vehicle and finding marijuana inside a center console.

Kyte was arrested, handcuffed, transported to jail and charged with drug possession and tampering with evidence, according to the lawsuit.

State prosecutors on Jan. 15, 2019 dropped all charges against Kyte.

Civil action: 20 seeking to sue Martin County Sheriff's Office and ex-deputy for false imprisonment

James Sutton, 45, of Stuart, who also testified at O’Leary’s Dec. 2 sentencing, was falsely arrested and jailed on Nov. 14, 2018 “on false allegations of disturbing the peace,” according to the complaint.

He was charged with four felonies, which state prosecutors later dropped.

“O’Leary knowingly … provided a sworn affidavit containing false information that formed the basis for Sutton’s wrongful arrest and subsequent incarceration,” the suit claimed.

Testifying at O’Leary’s sentencing, Sutton called him a “cruel bully.”

“This man was intentionally and maliciously trying to destroy the lives of many people,” Sutton said from the witness stand.

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In a statement issued Tuesday, Snyder distanced himself and his agency from O’Leary’s illegal actions.

“Although it is not our practice to comment on pending litigation, I will say I stand behind the integrity and professionalism of my deputies,” Snyder said via email. “It is my hope that the community will recognize this case as outlier behavior and know that their trust in us is important to me, and paramount to keeping our community safe.”

Snyder has said O'Leary came to the Sheriff's Office with a "clean prior work history" and passed background, polygraph and drug tests at two other law enforcement agencies.

O'Leary worked for the Town of Palm Beach Police Department from May to October 2017 and was employed with the Marion County Sheriff's Office the prior year.

Melissa E. Holsman contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Civil rights lawsuit filed against former Martin deputy Steven O'Leary