ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown police officer drove his patrol SUV at a resident who was filming him in public last spring — one of a series of “obvious First Amendment violations” by officers, a recently filed civil rights lawsuit alleges.
Phillip Rishel on Wednesday sued the city, retired Officer Dean Flyte and Sgt. Christopher Stephenson, saying they violated his constitutional rights last spring.
The suit says Rishel was filming outside Allentown Police Department’s substation at 10th and Hamilton streets on March 26, 2024, when Flyte approached him and showed a “No Trespassing” sign near the entrance to the parking garage…