This story has been updated with new information.
Trumbull County officials want immunity and the reversal of a federal ruling after the arrest of Trumbull County Commissioner Niki Frenchko in 2022.
Frenchko was arrested at a county commission meeting after she criticized the county sheriff and jail conditions. She sued the county sheriff, the deputies who arrested her and the two other county commissioners at the time and said her First and Fourth Amendment rights had been violated.
In January, Northern District of Ohio Judge Philip Calabrese ruled in favor of Frenchko.
"Here in America, we do not arrest our political opponents," Calabrese wrote in his decision.
Now, the county officials are appealing that ruling.
Why did Frenchko criticize the Trumbull County sheriff?
At a June 2022 commission meeting, Frenchko read aloud a letter from the mother of a former inmate at the Trumbull County Jail. Frenchko said she was concerned about medical care for inmates in the jail and that the sheriff had not answered her questions about jail policy.
One month after Frenchko criticized conditions in the jail, then-commissioner Frank Fuda asked the clerk to read aloud a letter from Trumbull County Sheriff Paul Monroe. In his letter, Monroe denied the allegations from Frenchko and asked that she publicly apologize.
Frenchko interrupted the clerk reading the letter repeatedly and then sat down to respond to it. When Frenchko said an inmate had not gotten their heart medication, Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa interrupted her and said "This is getting disruptive," according to a video of the meeting. A sheriff's deputy then escorted Frenchko out of the meeting and arrested her.
Deaths and issues with medical treatment at the Trumbull County Jail
Six people died in the custody of the Trumbull County Jail between 2020 and 2023, according to data from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. State inspectors have noted issues with medical treatment in the Trumbull County Jail in annual reports. According to the jail's 2022 inspection report , jail staff failed to respond promptly to medical and mental health care requests.
A Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and USA TODAY Network Ohio investigation published in June found at least 220 people died in Ohio county jails between 2020 and 2023. The investigation found that sometimes jails fail to provide basic medical care to those in their custody, either because they ignore illnesses and injuries or don’t recognize their severity.
Alfonso Askew died in the Trumbull County Jail in November 2020, despite multiple attempts to get help for a ruptured peptic ulcer, according to his family's lawsuit.
What do the attorneys say?
Attorneys for the Trumbull County officials argue that it is not Frenchko's opinions that led to her arrest, but her behavior in interrupting the clerk.
“While Ms. Frenchko may have opinions which fall under the First Amendment’s protections generally, this does not afford her the right to express any opinion at any time, place, or manner desired," the attorneys wrote in court documents.
Frenchko's attorney noted that before Frenchko's arrest, the commission meetings were often contentious and commissioners often interrupted each other and other speakers.
Frenchko previously told The Enquirer that Fuda used to hold up photos of used tampons during meetings and a resident once mocked her by salsa dancing and flipping her the middle finger.
The sheriff's deputies never arrested anyone for disrupting a commissioner meeting before Frenchko, her attorney wrote in court documents.
“They treated Frenchko differently than every single other person who behaved in the same manner they accuse Frenchko of behaving to punish her speech," he wrote.
Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trumbull County officials appeal ruling after a county commisioner's arrest
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