Bail Project employee settles lawsuit with Cleveland for $30,000 over arrest during May 30 riots

Bail Project employee settles lawsuit with Cleveland for $30,000 over arrest during May 30 riots

Cleveland, Ohio A Bell Project worker accused of being arrested by Cleveland police without probable cause twice in one day after May 30, 2020, settled his lawsuit with the city for $30,000 in riot gear.

   Anthony Boddy, a former member of the city's Community Police Commission, accepted the city's proposal Tuesday, and U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko approved the deal Friday, according to court records.  Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Boddy and city officials for comment.

   The body's lawsuit accuses the city of wrongfully arresting people after former Mayor Frank Jackson imposed a curfew that limited people traveling in downtown Cleveland.

   Another man in the city settled for $45,000 in December after police arrested him after he stepped outside an apartment building to pick up groceries from a delivery driver.

   The body's arrest comes a day after peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.  Police and protesters later clashed in downtown Cleveland, rioting and police arresting dozens of people.

   Jackson imposed a curfew that allowed people to travel for legal purposes, but the police and National Guard stopped people from going in and out of the city and checked everyone's identity.

   Boddy, 35, was living in the city at the time and working at the Bell Project, which has worked to reduce the number of people in county jails by posting piles for people charged with low-level, non-violent crimes.

   After a day of protests, the body turned up in court to help post bonds for dozens of people arrested the night before.  After working a few hours at the courthouse and jail, he rode his bike down West 25th Street and into Detroit to visit a friend who bought him lunch.

   On his way back downtown over the Detroit-Superior Bridge, officers detained him and issued him a citation, although the body presented officers with identification that contained a county-issued badge that allowed him to walk into the jail and courthouse.  Entry was allowed.

   He went home, had lunch, and went back to the Justice Center to help post-Bonds in prison.  Authorities arrested him and took him to jail, where he spent the night.

   Prosecutors subsequently dismissed all charges against him.