Man sues police officer after judge tosses gun charge
CLEVELAND — A Cleveland man is suing a city police officer after a federal judge threw out his case when she found the officer either lied or was reckless during his investigation.
William Ellis, 43, filed the lawsuit in federal court against Detective Jeffrey Yasenchack and the city last week. Ellis accused Yasenchack of making false and misleading statements in court records to secure a search warrant for Ellis’ home. The raid led to his 2020 arrest on a federal gun charge that prosecutors ultimately dropped.
It’s the second time since 2019 that a judge found Yasenchack lied about the circumstances surrounding an arrest of Ellis.
Yasenchack was hired as a Cleveland police officer in 1998. Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said Yasenchack remains on active duty in the city’s Fifth District, the northeast portion of the city.
City officials did not respond to messages seeking comment and typically decline to address newly filed lawsuits. The lawsuit was filed by Ellis’ attorneys, Joseph Scott and Marcus Sidoti.
“Yasenchack demonstrates an appalling disrespect for the law, consistently violating the rights of civilians while the police department condones his pattern of misconduct,” Sidoti said. “It is long past time for him to be held accountable.”
Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association President Jeff Follmer said Yasenchack was a hard-working officer.
“Detective Yasenchack is a good detective,” Follmer said. “He’s made many arrests and had many convictions in his career. We’ll see what happens.”
The lawsuit and court records from Ellis’ prior criminal cases say Ellis’ and Yasenchack’s history dates back to a 2019 arrest on charges of drug trafficking.
Yasenchack in that case stopped Ellis for what he wrote in court records was a hand-to-hand drug transaction. He ordered Ellis out of the car and found drugs in his underwear, according to court records.
Yasenchack claimed that during the stop Ellis spun around and knocked him to the ground. Body camera video showed that officers forced Ellis to bend over, then knocked his legs out from under him.