Woman, 70, jailed for 17 hours sues Pittsburgh, Sharpsburg police officers

When Mary Lewin accidentally backed into a parked car as she left a Sharpsburg business on Aug. 3, 2018, she thought she did the responsible thing.

She wrote out her contact information and left a note on the vehicle’s windshield. She also waited 15 minutes to see if anyone returned to the parked car, which had minor damage from the accident.

When no one returned, Lewin left but subsequently was contacted by the vehicle’s owner. Lewin provided her insurance information, and her carrier provided coverage for the damage.

But the incident didn’t end there, according to a federal lawsuit Lewin, 70, of Squirrel Hill, filed against three police officers.

Unbeknownst to her, on Aug. 27, 2018, Sharpsburg police Officer Jeffrey Hussar filed criminal charges against Lewin, including for failure to stop and give information, failure to render aid and failure to immediately notify police of an accident.

Hussar never informed Lewin, an attorney, of the charges, and the notice for her preliminary hearing was sent to an incorrect address.

Lewin did not know she had been charged and consequently didn’t attend the court hearing.

On Oct. 31, 2018, a bench warrant was issued for her arrest.

More than a year later, on Nov. 20, 2019, Lewin was pulled over while driving her vehicle on Fifth Avenue in Oakland by Pittsburgh police Officers Darion Feist and Benjamin Olsen.

The officers instructed Lewin to exit her vehicle and walk backward toward their police car, according to the lawsuit.

They then “forcefully and aggressively handcuffed the plaintiff and placed her under arrest,” the lawsuit said.

They did not tell her why she was being arrested, according to the suit.

“Plaintiff repeatedly informed these defendants that she had a torn rotator cuff and requested that the handcuffs be loosened, as she was in extreme pain so unbearable that she began to cry,” the complaint continued. “Plaintiff’s wrists also became red and swollen as a direct result of defendant Feist and/or Olsen’s actions.”

During the arrest, the lawsuit said, Lewin never behaved dangerously or posed a threat to anyone.

After two additional officers arrived on scene, one of them told Lewin there was a warrant for her arrest for hit-and-run.

She was taken to the Alle­gheny County Jail, where she was held for 17 hours.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, alleges Lewin suffered public humiliation, severe anxiety and emotional distress from her arrest and detention.

The charges against her were dismissed at a preliminary hearing Dec. 4, 2019.

The lawsuit includes claims for malicious prosecution, alleging that Hussar filed charges against Lewin without probable cause, especially since he knew, based on what he wrote in the affidavit against her, that she had left her contact information for the owner of the car, the complaint said.

It also has claims for false arrest, false imprisonment and excessive force.

Elizabeth Tuttle, one of Lewin’s attorneys, said Lewin was traumatized by her experience.

“Mary did everything right, yet she was still criminally charged and basically brutalized,” Tuttle said. “She did what she was supposed to.”

Tuttle said she did not know the motivation behind charging Lewin.

“It will be interesting to find out,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh police said she could not comment on a legal matter. A message left with the Sharpsburg police was not immediately returned.