ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown police officer drove his patrol SUV at a resident who was filming him in public last spring — one of a series of “obvious First Amendment violations” by officers, a recently filed civil rights lawsuit alleges.
Phillip Rishel on Wednesday sued the city, retired Officer Dean Flyte and Sgt. Christopher Stephenson, saying they violated his constitutional rights last spring.
The suit says Rishel was filming outside Allentown Police Department’s substation at 10th and Hamilton streets on March 26, 2024, when Flyte approached him and showed a “No Trespassing” sign near the entrance to the parking garage.
Rishel and Flyte exchanged words before the officer walked away, the lawsuit alleges. About 10 minutes later, Flyte drove his SUV out of the garage and drove toward Rishel on the sidewalk while “blaring the car’s siren,” it says.
The SUV hit the entrance to the garage, and “Rishel laughed and ridiculed Officer Flyte,” according to the suit.
“But he stopped laughing — and started running — when Officer Flyte backed the car up, completed the turn and drove on the sidewalk straight at Rishel,” the lawsuit states.
Flyte then drove his car around a light pole on the sidewalk and continued driving toward Rishel until a concrete planter blocked his path, Rishel alleges in the suit.
The now-retired officer went inside and got Stephenson. While the sergeant inspected damage from the collision, Flyte said he would arrest Rishel for loitering, according to the suit.
And Stephenson threatened to ban Rishel from the public sidewalk outside the substation, the suit alleges.
“Filming is not a First Amendment right,” Stephenson says in a video Rishel posted online of his interactions with police on March 26 and 27, 2024.
“One more time for the cameras,” Rishel replies.
“It is not a First Amendment right. It is not observed by Pennsylvania law,” Stephenson says in the video.
Stephenson and Flyte were later backed up by other officers during their dispute with Rishel, who left the area, according to the lawsuit.
RishelvAllentown Complaint by LehighValley Newsdotcom on Scribd
Charged; conviction overturned
Rishel alleges he was not allowed to file a formal complaint against Flyte later that day at Allentown Police Department’s headquarters on Hamilton Street.
He returned to the substation the next day and “picked up where he left off, using his cell phone to film what he could see in plain view,” the suit states.
“These officers have a disdain for the rights of the people they’re sworn to protect — and I hope my lawsuit changes things for the better."Phillip Rishel, who sued Allentown and two officers
Rishel left after again being threatened with arrest by Stephenson and another sergeant, according to the suit.
Rishel was charged March 28, 2024, with two counts of disorderly conduct and a single count of loitering.
He was convicted of loitering, but that conviction was overturned upon appeal; Lehigh County courts dismissed the disorderly conduct charges against him.
'Huge issue with the culture' at APD: Rishel
Rishel in February provided a video of his self-described protests outside city police building in March 2024 to Lackluster Media, which posted it on its YouTube channel, the suit states.
The video, titled “Triggered Tyrants Try Every Trick — Lawsuit Incoming,” has more than 1 million views.
The Allentown Police Department has paid out more than $2 million to settle claims of police misconduct over the past decade, including at least three six-figure payouts.Lawsuit against Allentown police
Rishel — in a news release from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which helped him file the suit — said he believes “there is a huge issue with the culture of the Allentown Police Department.”
“These officers have a disdain for the rights of the people they’re sworn to protect — and I hope my lawsuit changes things for the better,” he said.
His lawsuit asks a Lehigh County judge to award compensatory and punitive damages against Flyte, Stephenson and the city.
It also seeks an injunction blocking the city and its employees from restricting Rishel’s rights to protest and film on public sidewalks.
And Rishel wants a judge to order Allentown police officers undergo training on people’s First Amendment rights, including their right to film cops in public.
Allentown Police Department has paid more than $2 million to settle claims of police misconduct over the past decade, including at least three six-figure payouts, according to the suit.
Genesis Ortega, Allentown’s communications manager, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.
