It started over a phone call to police that probably should never have been made – a Black girl calling police, possibly for help, only for them to show up and arrest her.  Then, when her older sister, Toi-Allyson Kolowena, tried to record the arrest, four Ohio cops pounced on her, arresting h er on fabricated charges, leaving her with permanent injuries.  Earlier this month, the Dayton City Council approved a $27,500 settlement for Kolowena, a 34-year-old Black woman from Ohio, according to the Dayton Daily News. A Black woman arrested and abused by Dayton police for recording her little sister’s arrest in Ohio was awarded $27,5000 settlement. (Photo: Creative Commons) The incident took place at around 9:50 p.m. on April 23, 2022, after Kolowena’s little sister called police, according to Kolowena’s complaint, which does not identify the sister’s name nor elaborate on the nature of her call or the reason for her arrest. But it does describe what took place once Kolowena pulled out her phone to record her little sister being arrested by Dayton police officers Elyzabeth McDonald, Jordan Fader, Riley Brown and Dorian Mercer, who were all listed as defendants in the lawsuit. As clearly shown on recorded footage, Defendants were clearly aggressive and elevated in their engagement with the minor and others on the scene. Plaintiff produced her cell phone and began recording the incident. Plaintiff had an absolute right to record the incident.  Defendant Brown became angry at Plaintiff for recording the incident, which was lawfully within her rights. In violation of Plaintiff’s rights and in expression of his anger of her exercising her rights, Defendants Brown, and Mercer suddenly and without justification violently grabbed Plaintiff to physically restrain her.  As Defendants Brown and Mercer violently grabbed Plaintiff, Officers McDonald and Faber joined in the attack.  Defendants Brown, Mercer, McDonald and Faber, still without any legal justification and despite the fact Plaintiff had committed no criminal offense used their combined weight and force and threw Plaintiff to the ground pinning her under their bodies. The claim states that Kolowena was left with a concussion, closed head injury, knee sprains, and contusions, injuries that still affect her today. Atlanta Black Star reached out to Kolowena’s attorney seeking a copy of the video and more details. He has not yet responded.  Cops Contradict Themselves  In an attempt to cover up the unlawful arrest, the cops then charged Kolowena with misconduct at an emergency and obstruction of official business, states the claim. And the charges remained pending for more than a year before a jury found her not guilty in August 2023 after Kolowena rejected a plea deal from prosecutors. The claim states the cops did not show up to trial to avoid testifying under oath since they contradicted each other in their reports about what took place that day. Having used excessive and unnecessary force on Plaintiff and filing false charges against Plaintiff, none of the Defendants appeared at trial to testify under oath about their actions.  In what appears to be further attempts to cover up their actions, Defendants provided contradictory recitations of facts in the investigation report about the incident involving Plaintiff and her minor sister. But the arrest led to Kolowena losing her job and left her with permanent pain and injuries, her filing says. The lawsuit was first filed in Montgomery County Court in March 2024 before it was transferred to federal court.  It accused the four cops of excessive force, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution, conspiracy, and violating her Fourth Amendment rights. The claim was also asking for at least $25,000 before Kolowena ended up with $27,500. Last year, Dayton police officers pulled over a Black man in a Bentley, hoping to find something to arrest him on, searching every crack and crevice of his car for contraband before giving up and handing him a citation for illegal tints.  In 2021, Dayton police pulled over a Black man who is a paraplegic, accusing him of leaving a drug house, dragging him out of his car by force since he was unable to step out on his own.  But when they searched his car, they found no contraband, so they cited him for illegal tints and for having an unrestrained child in the car.   ‘Without Justification’: Black Woman Pulled Out Her Phone to Record Her Sister’s Arrest — What Ohio Cops Did Next Cost the City a Huge Settlement ...read more read less