Ohio Police Officer Sues Sheriff’s Office Over False Arrest and Privacy Breach

Mantua Police Department officer Miranda L. Brothers, 29, challenges allegations of negligence after her arrest and her child's placement in foster care. ( Photo Credit: Law and Crime)

Ohio Police Officer Files Lawsuit Alleging False Arrest and Privacy Violations

An Ohio police officer has filed a lawsuit against the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, claiming wrongful arrest and privacy violations. Miranda L. Brothers, a 29-year-old officer with the Mantua Police Department, alleges she was falsely accused of leaving her then-5-year-old child unsupervised with a registered sex offender, leading to her arrest and her child being placed in foster care. The accusations were later determined to be unfounded.

Brothers filed her lawsuit in Portage County Court, seeking over $150,000 in punitive damages. She accuses the sheriff’s office of malicious prosecution, violating her constitutional rights, inflicting emotional distress, and interfering with her livelihood.

Allegations of a Flawed Investigation

The lawsuit details that on Dec. 7, 2023, detectives were assigned to observe Brothers and her child during a restaurant visit in Mantua, Ohio. Both detectives testified that her child never had any unsupervised contact with a registered sex offender. Additionally, a third detective had previously testified that the allegations against Brothers were baseless.

Despite these findings, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Jan. 1, 2024, seizing Brothers’ phone and her child’s tablet while removing the child from her care. The next day, Brothers was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, based on claims that a sex offender spent extended time alone with her child. These charges directly contradicted detectives’ sworn testimony.

By April 2024, a forensic search of her devices revealed no evidence of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the state continued pursuing charges until the case was dropped in July 2024. Brothers was reinstated to full-time duty following the dismissal.

Privacy Breach and Explicit Photos Shared

Brothers also alleges that a detective with the sheriff’s office accessed private, explicit photos on her phone unrelated to the investigation. These images were allegedly shared within the sheriff’s office and potentially beyond. The lawsuit describes this conduct as “outrageous” and “beyond all possible bounds of decency.”

Her attorney, Eric Fink, expressed concern about the motives behind the investigation. He explained that Brothers had left her child with a babysitter, who was an off-duty police dispatcher with a background check, while she worked in Mantua. Detectives had been surveilling the babysitter during the incident in question.

Fink also criticized the handling of the explicit photos. "They found pictures unrelated to the case and then passed them around," he said in an interview.

Brothers Seeks Justice

Brothers’ lawsuit seeks accountability for the alleged violations of her privacy and the distress caused by the investigation. She continues to serve as a police officer and hopes her case highlights the importance of ethical conduct in law enforcement investigations.