City man sues over alleged force by police
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A Dunkirk resident has sued four current and former city police officers for allegedly using excessive force on him.
Brandon Tate is suing the city along with former Police Chief Christopher Witkowski and Officers Noah Campese, Jeffrey Ortolano and Angel Echevarria. Tate alleges the officers roughed him up for no apparent reason during a May 2, 2025, arrest. According to OBSERVER records, Tate was charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, second-degree harassment, and resisting arrest.
Tate's lawsuit was filed July 30 in New York State's Supreme Court. Tate alleges Witkowski did a traffic stop on him the night of the arrest, while he was operating a motorcycle. The stop was for "alleged lane filtering," the court filing states.
"Witkowski repeatedly told plaintiff (Tate) that he did not intend to take plaintiff to jail and that plaintiff was not in trouble," the lawsuit continues. Witkowski returned to his vehicle for five to 10 minutes, then more Dunkirk Police Department officers arrived. Witkowski then told Tate police had located a warrant on him for an earlier, separate incident. (That incident is not described.)
The police officers then informed Tate he was going into custody, and ordered him to get off his bike. That's when, he alleges, the problems started.
Although Tate allegedly complied without aggression, his lawsuit claims that "one or more of the officer defendants slammed him to the pavement. (They)... punched, kneed and choked him. Each of the officer defendants supplied force, observed portions of the continuing force and failed to intervene despite a realistic opportunity to do so."
Tate's lawsuit goes on to claim he suffered "severe injuries." That included cuts, bruises and a problem with his right wrist severe enough that he sought hospital treatment after getting released from Chautauqua County Jail.
Tate is also upset about the alleged behavior of Dunkirk police on May 6, 2025, when "three DPD vehicles arrived outside plaintiff's home and remained for at least 10 minutes to deliver court date paperwork that plaintiff already possessed." Tate's wife answered the door.
The lawsuit claims "the officers yelled toward the residence, and Campese laughed and repeatedly directed a strobing flashlight through the upstairs window and into plaintiff’s eyes. The officers' conduct frightened (Tate) and his family, and was intended to intimidate, retaliate against, provoke, and harass plaintiff after the May 2 incident."
The filing goes on to allege that the police "used objectively unreasonable force against him, even though he posed no threat, was not fleeing and did not physically resist arrest" on May 2. Tate's suit also claims the officers committed assault and battery, and the city of Dunkirk is liable because the police were working for it.
The lawsuit does not state how much money Tate wants. It seeks unspecified punitive damages and court costs.