A Black man has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Manvel, Texas, and its police officers, claiming that he was falsely arrested for sexually assaulting his white neighbor during a gathering to celebrate his new home.
According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas this week, on Nov. 9, 2023, Manvel resident John Marks, 40, and his friend Freddie Douglas Jr., 43, had consensual sex in Marks’ pool with Amanda Zawieruszynski, a woman who lived nearby and with whom Marks said he had carried on an “intimate” relationship with for several months. She is also named in the lawsuit.
Zawieruszynski filed a police report a week later claiming she was held against her will, with both men raping her or attempting to rape her over a several-hour time period that night and into the next morning, reported the El Campo Leader-News. A court affidavit stated that all three had been drinking and that the assaults took place “with the woman saying no and having to physically fight Douglas off of her.”
Marks was arrested on Dec. 7, 2023, and charged with aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping, felonies that can result in prison sentences from five to 99 years. Douglas was also arrested and fired from his job as a police detective in El Campo. Both men were jailed and released on bond, protesting their innocence.
On March 23, a grand jury for Brazoria County reviewed the evidence presented against them by the district attorney and issued a no-bill verdict, declining to indict either man.
In his lawsuit filed on Aug. 21, Marks contends that Manvel police arrested him solely on the account of Zawieruszynski and without properly investigating. If they had, he argues, police would have seen surveillance footage from cameras in and around his home that clearly exonerated him.
According to the complaint, the cameras captured Zawieruszynski arriving that evening with cupcakes and “entering the home with no signs of distress or hesitation,” looking relaxed and engaging in friendly conversation. She later undressed and “willingly” joined the men in the pool and “appeared to be enjoying herself … engaging in consensual sexual activity with John Marks and later with Freddie Douglas, with no signs of resistance or discomfort.”
The cameras showed Zawieruszynski “moving freely throughout the house, with multiple opportunities to leave if she had felt threatened or uncomfortable,” including at one point when she was alone in the house while Marks and Douglas were outside in the pool, the complaint said.
Marks said he informed Officer Taner Truitt and Police Chief Thomas Traylor of the existence of surveillance footage that contradicted Zawieruszynski’s allegations, but the officers failed to review the footage or to include it in their report to a judge when seeking a warrant for his arrest.
“Their conduct was driven by a desire to secure a conviction at any cost, rather than a commitment to uncovering the truth,” the complaint stated.
Marks also contends that police used excessive force during his arrest and then held him in a cold, uncomfortable cell for several hours before transferring him to the Brazoria County Jail. During this time, he was denied “access to legal counsel and information about the charges against him.”
His lawsuit further argues that his treatment in custody was “part of a broader pattern of systemic abuse by the Manvel Police Department, which routinely violated the rights of those it detained.”
The case is “not an isolated incident, but reflects a time-worn pattern, reminiscent of the injustices depicted in To Kill A Mockingbird, where Black men are falsely accused of sexual crimes by white women, and the machinery of law enforcement is all too willing to proceed without question,” the complaint says.
The arrest and rape charges against Marks “garnered significant media attention … that was overwhelmingly negative, portraying John as a dangerous criminal,” which led neighbors, colleagues, and friends to distance themselves from Marks and caused irreparable damage to his personal and professional reputation, he claims.
His complaint charges the city of Manvel with federal civil rights violations, including failure to properly investigate serious allegations; depriving Marks of his right to be free from unlawful searches, seizures and false imprisonment; excessive use of force; and failure to adequately train, supervise and discipline its officers.
The complaint also specifies alleged misconduct by three police officers:
- It claims that Truitt “made false and misleading statements to Justice of the Peace Richard B Davis and omitted material information that, if disclosed, would have prevented the issuance of the arrest warrant.”
- The police chief Traylor, who participated in and witnessed the arrest of Marks “knew or was recklessly indifferent to the fact that Officer Truitt made false and misleading statements in his sworn complaint.”
- Officer Ruiz (first name unknown) conducted an unwarranted search of Marks’ vehicle and home without probable cause or reasonable suspicion, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Ruiz used excessive force despite no resistance during the arrest, Marks alleges, and later tampered with Marks’ security cameras by altering the settings from 180 days to 60 days, an action “aimed at destroying exculpatory evidence and obstructing justice.”
Traylor, the Manvel Police Department and Brazoria County District Attorney Tom Selleck all declined requests from Atlanta Black Star to comment on the criminal proceedings and the civil lawsuit.
Marks further charges Zawieruszynski with malicious prosecution for falsely reporting to the police that she had been raped and kidnapped by him, which led to his arrest and prosecution, and caused him mental anguish and damage to his personal and professional reputation.
After the grand jury, which had reviewed the surveillance video, declined to indict Marks and Douglas in March, the two men appeared at a press conference with civil rights activists, who denounced the Manvel police for racist and corrupt practices, and Zawieruszynski for allegedly making false claims of rape.
“From 2024 back to the days of Emmett Till, Black men are still having to defend their life versus white tears,” said Iris Bey, president of the Brazoria County NAACP. Turning to Marks, she said, “That audio and video saved your life. Without it, Brazoria County would have nailed your ass to the cross. … Why in 2024 are we still fighting against white fragility?”
Marks seeks a jury trial and “all available relief “from the court against all of the defendants for the alleged constitutional violations, including compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages for lost wages, diminished earning capacity, medical expenses (including psychological counseling and therapy), loss of professional opportunities and standing in the community, social ostracism and damage to personal relationships.
