TROY — A Troy police officer abused his authority out of spite when he arrested a man who honked his car horn at a traffic light, a recently filed federal lawsuit alleges.
City resident Matthew Edwards, represented by Frost & Kavanaugh, claims that police came to his home on July 19, 2024, arrested him, and issued since-dismissed charges shortly after giving an idle patrol car a “short toot” of the horn at a green light in South Troy.
According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Edwards hit the horn after he noticed the officer in a car stopped in front of him appeared preoccupied at a green light at the corner of Third and Madison streets. The officer, without a signal, turned left, the complaint states. Edwards had his left turn signal on, but turned it off and took an alternate route home in an attempt to “avoid conflict.” The officer, Taylor Gamache, came to Edwards’ home after circling the neighborhood and expressed umbrage over the beep, the lawsuit said…