A Signal Mountain man who says he was arrested by town police responding to reports from two local banks that he was attempting to steal money from an elderly relative has taken his dispute to U.S. District Court in Chattanooga.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Richard Saputa and his wife Joyce, is seeking $60 million in damages from the town of Signal Mountain, SunTrust Bank and Regions Bank.
Further, it asks for damages of $1 million each from a variety of named and unnamed police officers and other employees of the three primary defendants, as well as $10 million for Joyce Saputa for alleged loss of consortium.
The town, represented by attorney Ronald Wells, has denied the allegations, as have other defendants in the case. Both they and the plaintiffs have asked that the dispute be settled by a jury trial.
Mr. Saputa – who is one of eight applicants to fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat of outgoing Signal Councilman Dick Gee – has suffered damages to his reputation and lost earning capacity, according to the lawsuit.
“Plaintiff is a nuclear engineer, by profession,” the complaint says. “To work in his field of expertise he is required to pass a background check.”
His ability to do so has been damaged, the lawsuit contends, “(a)s a result of the actions of all of the defendants, including the deprivation of rights under the constitution, the tortuous conduct of the defendants, including the intentional, willful and reckless and negligent conduct of the defendants,”.
According to the Saputas’ complaint, filed by attorney Clayton Whittaker, the incident began when Mr. Saputa and his mother-in-law went to the Signal branch of SunTrust Bank on Feb. 23, 2017.
“During plaintiff’s business with the bank a conflict occurred which caused the plaintiff to close his account,” it says, adding that Mr. Saputa told SunTrust employees he intended to take the check they gave him and “go across the street” to open an account with Regions Bank.
“Plaintiff was advised he was not welcome (in the SunTrust branch) . . . due to a previous encounter with the bank, and that he was trespassing. He was instructed to leave the bank,” the complaint notes.
Following his departure, Mr. Saputa’s mother-in-law tried to close her account, it continues, but SunTrust employees refused to do so.
“They sent her outside where the plaintiff was waiting in his car,” the complaint continues. “She told him that the bank employee did not close the account and said it was not in her best interest. He explained to his mother-in-law that she should close the (account) and she went back into the bank and instructed the bank to close her account.”
A SunTrust employee did so, according to the lawsuit, and gave her a check for the amount in the account “made out to her alone.”
However, the complaint alleges, “Plaintiff later learned that Regions had been alerted by SunTrust Bank that plaintiff was suspected of trying to gain access to the mother-in-law’s account and to steal her money.”
A SunTrust employee also called Signal Mountain Police, according to the lawsuit, and “falsely claimed that the plaintiff was attempting to steal his mother-in-law’s money and that she was being abused.”
At Regions Bank, the suit contends, Mr. Saputa “noticed that the manager was acting in a strange manner” but was able to use the SunTrust check to open an account after showing proper identification.
However, it notes, his mother-in-law did not have such identification and was unable to open an account.
Signal Mountain Police officers arrived at Regions while Mr. Saputa was inside, the complaint says, and stopped him when he started to leave.
“It is believed that Regions Bank . . . called (police) to make the false report that the plaintiff was attempting to steal from his mother-in-law and to continue to slander the plaintiff,” according to the complaint. “ . . . It is believed that protected (financial) information was disclosed at this time to officers.”
Mr. Saputa refused to comply with the officers’ demand that he show identification, the suit notes.
“The plaintiff’s identity was known to the police as well as to the bank employees . . . The fact that the officers requested identification was a ruse to force an encounter with the plaintiff and to unreasonably detain him since his identity was known,” it contends.
During his exchange with police officers, according to the complaint, Mr. Saputa saw his mother-in-law leaving the bank and became concerned for her safety because “she wanders off.”
He told police about his concern, the lawsuit says, and “continued to try to leave the building” since officers “refused to identify their purpose in stopping him, or to articulate reason for his detention.”
Officers then told him he was being detained and, because he would not stop, he was being arrested, according to the suit.
When they were unable to put handcuffs on the resisting plaintiff, the complaint notes, police officers decided to use a Taser gun to restrain him “causing him great pain and discomfort along with mental anguish and suffering” and rendering him incapacitated, He was then handcuffed and transported to Hamilton County Jail on charges of disorderly conduct as well as resisting arrest or obstruction of the legal process.”
Those charges were later dismissed in Hamilton County Sessions Court, according to the complaint.