COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County Board of Commissioners Tuesday formally approved a settlement involving a federal case in which a Coldwater man claimed his civil rights were violated by local police.
The settlement was recommended by the county’s attorney. Details were not released.
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 a $25 refund for what he said was a defective DVD from a 2009 trail.
Galinis was told by police officers to stop video taping his interaction with a clerk office employee 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.
