Suit: Parma, Ohio police officers brutalized handcuffed 13-year-old boy, smashing face against brick wall | Chandra Law Firm | 888.500.5025 | Berkeley | San Diego | Cleveland | Columbus | Santa Fe

PARMA, OH — Yesterday, a mother filed a civil-rights lawsuit in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of her 13-year-old child, alleging that Parma Police Department officers subjected the 70-pound child to gratuitous police brutality, First Amendment retaliation, and severe physical injuries during an August 13, 2025 incident.

The suit names the City of Parma and Parma police Officers Michael Frinzl, Olivia Bartulovic, and Ryan Sopko in both their official and personal capacities. According to the complaint, officers responded to Walters Grove Park following a minor dispute among 13-year-old friends. After the boy’s mother arrived to pick him up, the child tossed a stick toward the rear hatch door of his mother’s van while standing far away from officers. In response, Officers Bartulovic and Dale Calta chased down the 70-pound child, tackled him, aggressively handcuffed him, and locked him in a police cruiser.

Graphic body-camera video captures escalating brutality at station

According to the complaint, body-camera footage recorded multiple instances of severe physical abuse after the child arrived at the Parma police station:

• Face smashed against brick wall: The filing alleges that Officers Frinzl and Bartulovic dragged the handcuffed child across a gravel area, ducked under police tape, and intentionally smashed his face into a rough brick wall, dragging it downward. The assault left abrasions and permanent facial scarring.
• Suspended by handcuffed arms: The complaint details how Officers Frinzl, Bartulovic, and Sopko lifted the 70-pound child into the air by his arms—which were handcuffed behind his back at a 90-degree angle—and his feet, suspending his entire body weight from his wrenched shoulders as he screamed in pain.
• First Amendment retaliation and hitting the boy’s head into a wall: When the child criticized Officer Frinzl inside the station, Officer Frinzl pushed the boy backward over a bench, causing his head to hit a wall, in retaliation for his constitutionally protected speech.
• False accusations and falsified reports: The lawsuit asserts that Officer Frinzl fabricated an accusation on camera—claiming the boy kicked him in the testicles multiple times—to justify the excessive force. Prosecutors later charged the child with two counts of police assault based on the false claim. A juvenile-court magistrate judge dismissed all charges against the child with prejudice on April 3, 2026 (meaning they can never be refiled), and ordered his record sealed.
• Failure to notify his parent: The complaint alleges that officers arranged for an ambulance to transport the child to University Hospital’s Parma Medical Center without notifying his mother. When the boy’s mother arrived at the hospital and questioned Officer Frinzl about her son’s bleeding face, Frinzl laughed and said, “It’s on bodycam.”

Excerpts of the body-camera footage filed with the court are available above and here.

A pattern of excessive force

The lawsuit asserts Monell liability against the City of Parma, alleging a decades-long custom, policy, and practice of condoning gratuitous violence and retaliatory excessive force against individuals who criticize police authority. The filing lists a long series of prior federal lawsuits detailing excessive force by Parma police officers. To date, the City of Parma has failed to discipline Officers Bartulovic or Sopko—and only placed Officer Frinzl alone on paid administrative leave on May 29, 2026, after receiving media inquiries.

Subodh Chandra, lead counsel for the plaintiff, issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit: “The body-camera footage reveals a terrifying level of cruelty inflicted by adult police officers on a 70-pound, 13-year-old child who was already in handcuffs. The City of Parma’s history of enabling this culture of abuse must end, and these officers must be held fully accountable for brutalizing a helpless child.”

The family is represented by Subodh Chandra, Courtney Bow, and Emily Bohatch.

The case is captioned L.G. on behalf of her minor child, Child 1 v. City of Parma, et al., Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas No. CV 26-144419 and is assigned to Judge Mollie Ann Murphy. The complaint is available here.

Yesterday, the mother also filed criminal charges against the officers.

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The Chandra Law Firm LLC is a boutique firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, dedicated to vindicating the rights of whistleblowers and victims of civil-rights violations. The firm is known for its advocacy in high-stakes litigation against government and corporate misconduct.

Chandra Law is experienced obtaining justice for victims of employment retaliation. We also secure constitutional rights. And the firm helped pioneer work in holding individuals and companies accountable for civil liability for criminal acts, securing the two leading Supreme Court of Ohio decisions favorable to crime victims on the topic. If you think that your rights have been violated, you may contact us to discuss your options.

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