The family of a man who died after being arrested by Massillon Police has sued the city and police in federal court.
Lowell Gower Jr. died on June 2, 2023, more than two months after being arrested following a domestic incident.
In the lawsuit, Gower’s family alleges that his death was the result of a body slam by an unnamed Massillon officer.
Calls for comment from the city and police department have not yet been returned.
According to the complaint, the 58-year-old Gower, referred to as Bo, was complying with officers during his arrest on March 19. While he was handcuffed, an officer allegedly slammed Gower to the ground, breaking his neck.
Gower was paralyzed and never recovered enough to go home.
He was taken first to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Medical Center in Canton. On May 26, he was taken to a rehabilitation facility, where he suffered a cardiac arrest the day after arriving. He was taken back to the hospital and died June 2.
“It’s as bad as you can imagine,” said his family’s attorney, John Pfleiderer. “He’s paralyzed. He’s got a tube down his throat because his lungs don’t work. His family is watching him in pain for months.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Akron, lists the city, the police chief, five unnamed officers and one unnamed supervisor as defendants.
“The actions of the John Doe Officers in unjustifiably slamming Bo to the ground, despite his compliance, was unreasonable, deliberately indifferent, reckless, willful, wanton, and shocking to the conscience,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit claims police used excessive force, leading to Gower’s wrongful death, and that the department failed to implement proper use of force policies or train officers properly.
The city also allegedly failed to provide information on policies, follow-up investigations or the officers involved to the attorneys in the lawsuit.
“Basically, the Massillon Police Department gave us body cam and dash cam footage and blew off the rest of our record request,” said Pfleiderer.
Gower is survived by his wife, mother and three children.
