COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County Board of Commissioners is expected to take formal action during their regular meeting Tuesday on a settlement involving a federal case in which a Coldwater man claimed his civil rights were violated by local police.
The settlement is being recommended by the county’s attorney, and commissioners decided last Thursday following a closed session to bring it forward to the Tuesday meeting.
Peter Galinis took the county and the City of Coldwater to court following an incident in August 2011 at the Branch County Courthouse when he tried to get his $25 back for what he said was a defective DVD from a 2009 trail.
Court documents state that after recording his interaction with a clerk on his cell phone, Galinis was told by police officers to stop recording and to leave the courthouse. When he refused, Galinis was arrested and removed from the building.
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last August that Galinis was entitled to a trial. They said there was no policy in place in 2011 against such recordings and Galinis had a lawful right to be in the courthouse.
