Attorneys for a New York woman arrested and pepper-sprayed during a July 2021 arrest in Miami Beach have expanded their federal lawsuit claiming excessive force.
The lawsuit was initially filed against three Miami Beach Police officers, including the arresting officer Sgt. Vincent Stella, claiming they they violated Mariyah Maple's constitutional rights during her July 25, 2021 arrest. Stella is the officer who pepper-sprayed Maple.
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The new complaint filed Monday named officers Jorge Bercian, Kathleen Acevedo, Diego Rueda, Brandon Campos, Sgt. Jose Daniel Perez, Lt. Raymond Diaz, Capt. Steven Feldman and Major Enrique Doce.
“Instead of helping her, four officers, two sergeants, a lieutenant, a captain, and a major conspired to arrest and prosecute Ms. Maple under ... a law they knew was unconstitutional,” the complaint reads.
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Maple, from Buffalo, was in town celebrating her birthday weekend when she began recording a traffic stop.
Cell phone video showed an officer, identified as Stella, hitting Maple with his bicycle then pepper-spraying her.
Police charged Maple with violating a new city ordinance requiring people to stay 20 feet away from an officer while an arrest is happening.
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Around the same time, another video surfaced of a bystander taken down by several Miami Beach police officers while recording an arrest.
As a result of those incidents, Miami Beach Police Chief Rick Clements suspended the ordinance in order for officers to be better trained. The department said the training was completed and the ordinance is active again.
Authorities later dropped the criminal charge against Maple, but the mother of two said the damage has been done, especially when it comes to her nursing career.
"I tried to apply for another job and they told me that my fingerprints came back that I was arrested and that I had to show proof that everything was dropped," Maple said. "It just seems like they don’t want to go further with employment because of the arrest."
Maple claims the police officers violated her fourth amendment rights which prevent the government from illegal search and seizures and false arrests.
Stella is still on patrol while the investigation into the matter continues.
