Officers Sued In Mistaken SWAT Arrest

Sill From Body Camera Footage

A lawsuit involving SWAT police officers has been filed over a mistaken arrest in Portland involving a high school student during a lunch break.

The minor, only identified as L.M. in the suit, was among several hundred students at Deering High School in Portland that had been let out for lunch.

SWAT officers were in the area looking for a suspect in connection with thefts of shoes and cologne from a house party. This raises questions about using such heavy-handed tactics for minor non-violent conduct. The person they were looking for had no criminal history or one of violence.

L.M. was spotted and, though three years younger, taller, heavier, and without an arm tattoo - compared with the suspect they were looking for - he was stopped from behind at gunpoint with assault weapons aimed at him. He was told to kneel, was handcuffed, and to lay on the ground.

The officers were in Portland but were from the Southern Maine Regional SWAT team, with officers from South Portland, Scarborough, and Cape Elizabeth. The team was formed in 2009.

Officers quickly realized they had the wrong person, but detained L.M. anyway, even after releasing him from handcuffs. His only match was approximate age and skin color.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Portland, alleges a violation of L.M.’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment is applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment.

The officers named in the suit include Daniel Ahern, South Portland‘s Chief of Police, Lieutenant Ben Macisso, who heads the SWAT unit,, Jake Hall, a sergeant, detectives Chris Todd and Jonathan Stearns, and officers Caleb Gray and Anthony Verville. There are also unknown officers yet to be named.

Several of these officers have a disciplinary history. In addition, Anthony Verville was the subject of a use of force investigation by the attorney general, published in 2024, about the fatal shooting of Christafer Dodge.

The attorneys involved are Nealy Fleming and Michael Rogers from Heron Legal Youth Advocacy in Portland. They are being assisted by attorneys from the Institute For Justice, a non-profit civil rights law vfirm.