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A former Palm Beach Gardens police officer faces a lawsuit after drawing her gun on a man who had dialed 911 seeking assistance at a swimming pool last year.
Ryan Gould, a resident of Illinois, alleges that his civil rights were infringed upon during the incident, as detailed in a complaint filed on Wednesday in West Palm Beach federal court. The incident occurred on May 8, 2023, when Gould went for a swim at a communal pool within his apartment complex.
A dispute erupted between Gould and another swimmer, leading to the involvement of the other swimmer’s husband, who brandished a firearm. Feeling threatened, Gould promptly called 911 to summon law enforcement.
Officer Bethany Guerriero of the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department was the first responder on the scene and identified Gould as the caller, noting that he was unarmed and clad in swimwear. However, tensions escalated when Officer Joseph Strzelecki arrived at the scene.
According to the lawsuit, Guerriero instructed Gould to keep his hands out of his pockets, to which Gould complied by placing his cellphone in his swimsuit pocket and holding his arms out. Despite this compliance, Guerriero allegedly escalated the situation by drawing her gun on Gould. Strzelecki also aimed his Taser at Gould, while Guerriero ordered him to the ground at gunpoint.
Gould, complying with the officers’ demands, was handcuffed and subsequently taken into custody. Throughout the encounter, Guerriero purportedly spoke disrespectfully to Gould and made derogatory remarks about him.
Moments before being processed, Gould was released without charges. However, he claims to have suffered physical pain and mental anguish as a result of the encounter, leading to increased anxiety and fear. Gould has since refrained from using the pool and avoids public outings, having relocated from Florida to Illinois partly due to the incident.
Three and a half months after the confrontation, Guerriero was terminated from the Palm Beach Gardens police force. Her personnel record revealed previous disciplinary actions, including suspension in 2020 for unauthorized database access and reprimand in 2019 for improper conduct during an arrest.
Both Guerriero and Strzelecki are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which alleges violations of Gould’s 4th and 14th Amendment rights. Gould seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.
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