Cop cleared in strip club arrest sues department

A Baltimore Police sergeant who was arrested in 2018 at a bachelorette party at a strip club on The Block — and later cleared of wrongdoing — is suing the Police Department and the arresting officers.

The case against Sgt. Henrietta Middleton took an abrupt turn: Her employer said at the time of the arrest she had been acting disorderly, but video showed Sgt. Marlon Koushall striking her, and prosecutors dropped the charges against her.

Instead, criminal charges were filed against Koushall, and he was convicted of assault and misconduct in office last year.

Now, Middleton is seeking $160 million from the city, citing battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.

“We’re trying to clear her name and move forward,” said Latoya Francis-Williams, one of her attorneys. “We’re hoping the city comes to its senses and tries to make her whole.”

An attorney for Koushall could not be reached for comment. The Police Department also did not respond.

In her lawsuit, Middleton said she was never drunk and disorderly. She said she and her friends were leaving Norma Jean’s strip club, when someone realized they left belongings inside and

Middleton went back to retrieve them.

She said she was confronted by Koushall at the front door, and he “suddenly, without provocation” struck her three times in the face.

“Koushall continued to pursue her, threw her to the ground, and then grabbed her by her hair and clothing,” the lawsuit alleges. “Koushall’s physical attack did not cease until another officer grabbed Defendant Koushall and stopped him from further assaulting and beating Middleton.”

Middleton said she was handcuffed to a wall at the Central District police station for 10 hours.

She was served with a criminal citation that night, but said

Koushall drew up additional charges months later “with the advice and guidance” of Lt. Jason Yerg, who was assigned to investigate Middleton’s allegations of wrongdoing and is also named as a defendant.

The lawsuit said Koushall and Yerg worked together to “concoct a way to keep Defendant Koushall free from criminal charges and/or intradepartmental discipline as well as to damage Middleton in her own criminal case and assure she would not be given an objective, fair assessment within the department.”

Koushall pleaded not guilty and was convicted at trial. He was given a 10-year suspended sentence and probation. Court records show he has a pending appeal.

Koushall remains on the department and is suspended with pay, police said. He made $94,306 last year, according to a city database.

Francis-Williams said internal discipline against Middleton had been “resolved in her favor.” In Maryland, the police discipline process is shrouded from public view.

Francis-Williams said during that process “members of Police Department have been conspiring to hurt her and not have her come out on top.”

“We believe we’re going to have the true facts come to light,” she said.