Now former-Officer Kyle Howe, right, swears and assumes the new role of Sergeant for the Toledo Police Department in late November 2022. Photo by Vanessa Roudabush.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Since the News Chronicle last reported on the matter, a third federal lawsuit has been filed against former Toledo Police Officer Kyle Howe — this one on behalf of Steven Horrigan, the 72-year-old man who Howe pulled over in the early hours of March 21, 2023.

According to the suit, Horrigan, who is suffering from terminal Parkinson’s Disease, was cited for improper rear lamps, driving or towing an unsafe vehicle and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. Despite a gap in the body camera footage of the incident, Horrigan ended up on the ground, and Howe yelled “Don’t f***ing fight me” and threatened to tase him if he did not comply with his orders.

“Mr. Horrigan’s Parkinson’s and his age did not allow him to put his hands behind his back while pinned to the ground with a large man’s knee on his back,” the suit says. “It seems that Officer Howe was incensed that Mr. Horrigan did not want to pull over on a viaduct and instead pulled over once over the viaduct. Mr. Horrigan’s actions were legal under Iowa law.”

After Howe asked Horrigan why he didn’t place his hands behind his back, he responded that he couldn’t hear the former officer, and Howe told him “he should know better” as a result of his age. The suit goes on to accuse the former officer of promoting a false narrative that Horrigan, who was charged with interference with official acts before that was later dismissed, was non-cooperative and contends instead that the plaintiff “never resisted or interfered in any way” with Howe’s stop.

The suit alleges that Howe violated Horrigan’s fourth and 14th amendment right to be free from excessive force, that Horrigan was subject to a false arrest, that Howe committed assault and battery and that the city of Toledo was negligent in its supervision and training of Howe. It goes on to accuse city and Howe of violating Horrigan’s right to due process and negligence and levies an additional charge against Howe for abuse of process.

Horrigan is represented by attorneys Chad Frese and Scott Hunter of Kaplan and Frese LLP. They have demanded a jury trial and a judgment that will “fully and fairly compensate Mr. Horrigan for his mental and emotional injuries and damages, compensatory and punitive damages, for attorney fees, for interest and costs as allowed by law, and such other relief as may be just under the circumstances.”

On Tuesday, a judge ordered the civil jury trial in this matter to begin on April 28, 2025, at the federal courthouse for the Northern District of Iowa in Cedar Rapids.