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The lawsuit filed against the City of Kyle PD officers alleges falsified affidavits, attempted cover-ups, and civil rights violations. The case emphasizes the need for fair investigation and safeguarding all parties’ rights.
City of Kyle PD Officers Allegedly Falsified Affidavits
John Ferrara, the plaintiff in a recent civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas, has filed a First Amended Civil Rights Complaint against Kyle Police Officer Joseph Swonke, Kyle Police Officer Pedro Carrasco, and unidentified Kyle officers in their individual capacities. The lawsuit centers around an incident in which Swonke alleged that Mr. Ferrara committed felony stalking, a claim that Mr. Ferrara denies. The complaint provides a detailed account of the events leading up to the allegations.
In the affidavit, Swonke describes multiple instances of communication from Mr. Ferrara to a certain “Victim,” in his official government capacity, eventually identified to be his Police Chief, Jeffrey (Jeff) Blake Barnett, which allegedly escalated to a point where Barnett claimed to feel harassed and threatened. However, Mr. Ferrara’s part of the story presents a different narrative, alleging that his attempts to address issues with Barnett were mischaracterized as stalking in an attempt to cover up what the Kyle Police Department was doing for multiple years.
Specifically, Mr. Ferrara claims that his attempts to address matters related to Barnett’s actions were ignored, and his repeated requests for assistance from the Kyle Police Department went unanswered. Instead, it played out that the government agency ended up interfering in Mr. Ferrara’s life, impacting his employment, and intentionally failing to follow their own established laws, policies, procedures, and general orders. All of which was exposed in criminal discovery and ironically omitted from Swonke’s affidavit to a magistrate to obtain a warrant.
Further, Mr. Ferrara alleges that Swonke manipulated the situation to make Mr. Ferrara appear mentally unstable and dangerous, to get a magistrate to sign the warrant with a belief a violation of state law occurred. However, replacing the paragraphs in the affidavit with what Swonke and Carrasco knew during that time and omitted, would show the officers of Kyle Police Department were violating the law and no magistrate would sign a warrant to arrest Mr. Ferrara with that information stated in the affidavit.
City of Kyle Officers Allegedly Lacked Probable Cause
Thus, the lawsuit includes corrected paragraphs to the affidavit Swonke submitted, which provide Mr. Ferrara’s version of the events based on information Swonke, Carrasco, and members of the Kyle Police Department possessed, that were allegedly omitted by Swonke to obtain a warrant. These paragraphs convey Mr. Ferrara’s perspective on the interactions with Barnett and the authorities, aiming to counter the portrayal put forth by Swonke.
Swonke’s complaint, assisted by Carrasco report, outlines numerous messages and emails sent by Mr. Ferrara, which are described in the original affidavit as harassing and threatening. However, Mr. Ferrara contends that these messages were attempts to seek resolution and expose wrongdoing, rather than acts of harassment as presented in the original affidavit.
Further, Mr. Ferrara claims everybody within the City of Kyle knew and agreed to receive the messages sent because they were intentionally failing their oath of office and it would help persuade public opinion in their favor. The conduct alleged began in the year 2018, and went through part of the 2020 calendar year. That is a significantly long time to claim someone is stalking a government official that has custody and control of his police department.
However, it was not until Mr. Ferrara began publishing factual information received through the Texas Public Information Act about Barnett, was consent revoked. This was in April of 2020. Also indicated in the corrected affidavit were the multiple general orders violated by Swonke and Carrasco and that no leader would take appropriate disciplinary action or intervene in elicit conduct of Swonke and Carrasco because it was approved by Barnett and at Barnett’s custody and control of his officers. All of which was omitted from the affidavit sworn to by Swonke to a magistrate.
City of Kyle Ethics Commission Public Announcement: Alleged Misuse of Office by Police Chief
This ideology was even uttered in a City of Kyle Ethic Meeting where they attempted to dissolve the complaint in Barnett’s favor to avoid admission to the long stemming conduct. As a note, even today, the City of Kyle has not taken action based upon the findings of the citizens appointed to the Ethic Commission.
The lawsuit highlights the significant impact of the allegations on Mr. Ferrara’s life, including significant distress and legal repercussions. Ferrara was arrested and subjected to legal proceedings, which he asserts were based on false accusations over 1st amendment expressions which exposed wrongdoing, corruption, and questionable employment history.
City of Kyle Loses Criminal Case
Following a series of legal proceedings, Mr. Ferrara was ultimately found to have substantially prevailed in the criminal proceedings against him. On May 23, 2022, the bail bond associated with the felony stalking charge was dissolved, absolving Mr. Ferrara of the alleged unlawful restraint.
The lawsuit seeks to address the alleged civil rights violations, including the claimed manipulation of the stalking allegations to harm Mr. Ferrara’s reputation and livelihood.
While the legal process continues to unfold, the case sheds light on the complexities and potential ramifications of allegations related to stalking and harassment, emphasizing the need for fair and thorough investigation of such claims to safeguard the rights of all involved parties.
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