By JOHN WHITTAKER

jwhittaker@post-journal.com

JAMESTOWN — Two Jamestown residents are asking the state Supreme Court to allow them to file a lawsuit against the Jamestown Police Department that is otherwise time-barred.

Charles A. Washington and Mariah J. Fleming filed a lawsuit Friday in state Supreme Court in Mayville asking Justice Grace Hanlon to allow them to file their lawsuit despite it being too late to file under state General Municipal Law Section 50-e as well as asking the city to turn over all records Washington and Fleming have requested through the Freedom of Information Law. The city has not yet filed a legal response in the case.

Washington and Fleming allege in their court filing they were pulled over on Feb. 1, 2023, late in the evening by officers from the Jamestown Police Department, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies. After the stop, they allege they were illegally detained and their vehicle improperly searched without probable cause and without a search warrant. Washington and Fleming say the search didn’t yield any evidence of illegal activity, but the vehicle was towed and impounded while their cell phones were also seized. The phones, according to the court filing, weren’t returned until sometime early in 2024.

Washington and Fleming say they were taken to the city jail, where they were strip-searched, and spent the night in a holding cell until they were released the next morning.

“At no point did any police officer or law enforcement official inform the Petitioners of the reason(s) they had been pulled over, detained, strip-searched, or arrested,” wrote Chad Davenport of Rupp Pfalzgraf LLC in Buffalo, the attorney representing Washington and Fleming.

A search warrant was included in the court filing dated Feb. 2, 2023, the day after the traffic stop, signed by Ellicott Town Justice Marilyn Gerace. The warrant allows the search of a rental vehicle from EAN Holdings LLC, to look for the following property: evidence of the crime of criminal possession of a controlled substance that includes fentanyl, safes, lock boxes and the contents of a lock box or safe if it was found. Washington and Fleming say in their filing that the van was damaged, and they are now responsible for damages to the rental company.

A lawsuit has not yet been filed, only an attempt to have records turned over and a request for Hanlon to allow a claim to be filed after the deadline to file a claim has passed.

Davenport argues Hanlon should grant the request to file a late claim because Washington and Fleming were unaware that there was a notice of claim requirement in state law. The attorney also argues city officials had told Fleming and Washington the case was still ongoing and the difficulty in getting records that had been requested through FOIL requests.

“As a result of this incident, Petitioners suffered and continue to suffer monetary, physical, emotional, and psychological harm,” Davenport wrote in his attorney’s affirmation filed alongside the petition on Friday.

A request for comment from the city Corporation Counsel’s office has not been returned as of Monday afternoon.