SCREENGRAB VIA YOUTUBE Issaias Romero is shown in body camera footage just before he was thrown onto the patrol car of former Toledo Police Officer Kyle Howe during a traffic stop in February of 2023. Romero recently became the sixth individual to file an excessive force lawsuit against Howe and the city of Toledo in federal court.

TOLEDO — Although a federal judge recently dismissed one of the excessive force lawsuits filed against the city of Toledo and former Police Officer Kyle Howe, another is now pending on behalf of 27-year-old Issaias Romero of Tama, who was thrown onto the hood of Howe’s patrol car while he was handcuffed before being tackled to the ground during a traffic stop on the U.S. 30 East/Highway 63 ramp in February of 2023.

Like the five other plaintiffs who have sued the city and Howe, Romero is represented by the Kaplan and Frese LLP law firm of Marshalltown. The body camera footage of Romero’s arrest was one of several videos released on the Tama-Toledo News Chronicle’s YouTube channel after questions about Howe’s conduct during another traffic stop — the incident involving Shyla Wolf on March 30, 2023 — led to a larger inquiry into his behavior as an officer and, ultimately, his resignation from the Toledo Police Department.

Howe initially pulled over Romero, who had picked up his girlfriend Jasmin Solis from work, for speeding before discovering a pipe, asking him how recently he had smoked (Romero replied that it had been “a couple of days”) and arresting him for driving while barred. The encounter quickly escalated after Romero told Howe the pipe wasn’t in his pocket, the officer attempted to turn Romero around to face him by grabbing his arm and the plaintiff said “Hey, don’t be grabbing me like that, man.” Howe then threw him onto his patrol car and then the ground while repeatedly imploring him to stop resisting and claiming Romero tried to kick him. Conversely, Romero and his girlfriend objected to the officer’s methods and said he did nothing to warrant such treatment, and Solis was handcuffed as she attempted to film the incident on her cell phone.

Eventually, Howe’s body camera fell off, but Romero can be heard saying “If you’re gonna shoot me, shoot me then. I don’t give a f***.” He later denied attempting to kick Howe and wondered why he would do such a thing considering his size (Romero is smaller than Howe) and the officer’s position of authority over him.

Tama Police Officer Brandon Wall later arrived on the scene, and Howe and Romero continued to argue about the situation and what had transpired before Howe berated Solis, who was by then placed in the back of the patrol vehicle and crying, and then ordered her out of the car. After Howe and Wall questioned her further about the pipe and a grinder found inside the vehicle (Solis insisted she didn’t know who they belonged to), she was arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Romero was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, operating while under the influence first offense, possession of a controlled substance — marijuana first, keeping premises or vehicle for controlled substances, interference with official acts — bodily injury, driving while barred, assault on persons in certain occupations – bodily injury and four traffic citations. He has since pled guilty to the driving while barred, OWI and possession of marijuana counts — receiving a deferred judgment on each — while the remaining criminal charges were dismissed in Tama County District Court. According to Iowa Courts Online, the charge against Solis was filed as disorderly conduct, but it has since been dismissed.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Feb. 6, alleges civil rights violations by Howe as an individual, battery and assault by Howe as an individual and in his official capacity, and respondeat superior against the city of Toledo, his employer at the time of the incident. On each count, Romero’s attorneys, Chad Frese and Joel Waters, request judgments against Howe and the city “in an amount which will fully and fairly compensate Issaias for his physical, mental, and emotional injuries and damages, compensatory and punitive damages, for attorney fees, for interest and costs as allowed by law, and such other relief as may be just under the circumstances.”

Currently, four other federal lawsuits against Howe and the city are pending. The plaintiffs in those cases are the late Steven Horrigan, whose estate continues to pursue the suit on his behalf (trial set for April 28), Cynthia McSweeney (trial set for Sept. 22), Shyla Wolf (trial set for April 21) and Brodie Clark (trial set for Oct. 6). In January, Judge C.J. Williams issued a summary judgment in favor of the city and Howe regarding the complaint brought by Lang Leonard, and it will not proceed to trial.

On Feb. 12, Toledo City Attorney Michael Marquess issued the following statement.

“I would just say on behalf of the City that we have forwarded the matter to our defense counsel and look forward to a swift and fair resolution,” he said.