Patrons, owner say Lorain police used excessive force

LORAIN — The Lorain police are reviewing an incident that occurred early Sunday at the Red Parrot Cafe after patrons say police officers busted up a concert using brute force.

Police reports of the night call the incident a riot, saying people were fighting among themselves and with police officers at a bar on the 500 block of Broadway. They arrested nine people.

However, if you talk to those who were there that night — suspects and witnesses — you hear a different story.

“Standing right in front of me was this kid, and very violently, a cop just threw him to the ground and he was already walking out,” said Oberlin resident Andy Cook. “That just came out of nowhere. After they handcuffed him and he was on his stomach, he had a Taser pushed into the center of his back.”

Cook was not arrested that night, but he watched as others were.

A total of three people were hit with Tasers, including a man who was dry stunned in the hip after officers said he was kicking uncontrollably in the back of a police cruiser. He was handcuffed at the time.

Police Lt. Jim Rohner said he is reviewing what happened that night to determine if officers violated policy and procedure in their pursuit to restore order.

The review is not an administrative investigation. Instead, Rohner said he embarked on the review because the outcry from the public has been overwhelming.

Phone calls and e-mails have flooded police Chief Cel Rivera’s office, he said.

“We are not going to investigate complaints of ‘I’m not guilty’ or ‘I didn’t do anything wrong,’ ” he said. “That’s for the courts to determine. The department is not in the habit of investigating and second guessing any officer’s arrest. I’m only looking to see if officers acted outside departmental policy.

“Those are the types of complaints that are always investigated. Guilt or innocence will be adjudicated in court.”

Bar owner Mitch Karczewski described the night as one of the worst displays of police officers abusing their power that he has seen since members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a group of college students at Kent State University.

Red Parrot owner Mitch Karczewski

During an interview Friday, the 58-year-old club owner said he simply cannot stay silent about what went on.

“I’m not against the Lorain Police Department. I realize these guys put themselves on the line daily,” Karczewski said. “What I’m against is someone abusing their power to the point where the little guy gets hurt.”

Karczewski’s said about 150 patrons gathered Saturday night at his establishment to see four bands perform.

For several hours, things were fine. But then, right before midnight, a belligerent 23-year-old Elyria man threw a bar stool at another customer and was thrown out of the bar, he said.

Karczewski said that patron, Haydn Baxter, tried to come back and was thrown out a second time. During the struggle that ensued, he broke a large glass window in the doorway, he said.

That’s why Karczewski said he called the police after escorting Baxter outside and putting his own handcuffs on him to make sure he got arrested when police arrived.

Three officers arrived and Baxter was arrested on a charge of vandalism after he admitted to breaking the window, a report said.

Karczewski said he thought officers, who were outside the bar at this time, were done. That was until police Sgt. James Wolford, the shift’s officer-in-charge, arrived and demanded officers shut down the bar.

Up until that point, Karczewski’s version of the events and what the police say happened mirror one another. But then their accounts go in opposite directions.

“I was standing there watching these horrific acts, and I couldn’t believe what was going on,” he said. “My customers were leaving peacefully, and the police started picking on people randomly.”

Rohner said officers only decided to do a walkthrough after seeing people who appeared to be underage milling around. Also, it was their duty to ensure that no one else had a complaint that needed to be addressed, he said.

What they got instead was offensive remarks being hurled their way by intoxicated people that were upset because the band was momentarily told to stop playing, he said. As one band member was arrested, his brother intervened, resulting in his arrest as well, police said.

From that moment on, the seriousness of the situation escalated as patrons began to verbally challenge officers on what they were doing, Rohner said. The 8 to 10 officers inside were overwhelmingly outmanned, he added.

“Our department has zero tolerance when it comes to a large disturbance at a bar,” Rohner said. “Officers are not going to stand there and diffuse a situation by taking one guy outside when the place is going wild. They have to start making arrests.”

Arrests are one thing; three and four officers tackling a guy is another, said an Elyria resident who was at the Lorain bar that night.

“I had a right to know why they were on top of him,” said 27-year-old Joshua Carrier, who asked why a guy nearby was being arrested. “After the police arrived, they came into the bar full force with a vengeance it seemed. Within a few seconds, people were getting tackled and literally beaten up by police.”

Carrier’s interference was met with handcuffs and charges of disorderly conduct persisting and resisting arrest, both of which he called unjustified.

He filed a citizen’s complaint against police Thursday, and he said he will fight the charges.

Two attorneys hired to defend some of those arrested said they expect what really happened that night to come out in the courtroom.

“There was never a fight between any patron, ever, inside or outside the bar,” attorney Mike Camera said.

Camera represents Sean M. Fish, 21, of Lorain, his 23-year-old brother Joseph B. Fish of Elyria, Doug Strausbaugh, 23, of Irwin, Ohio, and Laura A. Zawistowski, 23, also of Lorain.

All four face charges including disorderly conduct persisting, resisting arrest, failure to disperse and aggravated rioting.

All have pleaded not guilty in Lorain Municipal Court. A preliminary hearing is scheduled at 2 p.m. Thursday, at which time Camera said he will present evidence and witness testimony to prove his clients’ innocence.

“I don’t have a client who’s guilty of anything,” Camera said.

Camera said he has an audio recording of what happened and is looking for video.  Zawistowski had a camera with her when she was arrested, but it was confiscated by police only to be returned with all the pictures deleted, Camera said.

The report detailing her arrest said Zawistowski told officers she planned to post the images on youtube.com, the popular video-sharing Web site.

“The police have a problem. There were far too many decent people as witnesses to what happened,” Camera said. “They can’t sweep this under the rug.”

Doug Merrill, the attorney representing Kevin Andruwski, said his client jumped up on the stage to avoid the melee and was confronted by a police officer who asked him if he “wanted to go,” Merrill said.

Andruwski said no and put his hands in front of him.

“The next thing he knows, he’s Tasered,” Merrill said.

As Andruwski lay on the ground, Merrill said, officers told him to put his hands behind his back, but an officer was standing on his arm.

“It was definitely one of the more disgusting things I have witnessed in my life,” said Cook, the Oberlin resident who wasn’t arrested. "I really felt like we had no one to go to to help us. It was a frightening experience. I am definitely second-guessing if I would ever want to have an officer help me."

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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