Sgt. Tony Cavanaugh, of the Maplewood Police Department, was named in a suit filed in April charging assault, according to an article in STL Today. The suit also accuses the city of Maplewood of failing to properly train its police officers.
Timothy Peterka, 35, of the Ballwin area, says in a suit in U.S. District Court in St. Louis that Cavanaugh used excessive force in an arrest about 1:15 a.m. Feb. 23 behind the Deer Creek shopping plaza.
Peterka was charged in Maplewood city court with resisting arrest and failure to comply.
Peterka says he scavenges dumpsters to find food for the homeless. That’s what he was doing behind Gordon Food Service when Cavanaugh and another Maplewood officer found them.
Cavanaugh said Peterka “made an affirmative movement with his right hand near his waist area and quickly turned towards me” in the police report. Cavanaugh kicked Peterka’s legs out from under him at that point.
An attorney for the city says Cavanaugh acted properly. Maplewood Chief of Police Steve Kruse declined to comment for the article in STL Today.
Read the full article in STL Today.