CONCORD — A Claremont man is suing two former police officers who entered his room and searched his belongings without a warrant in February 2018, saying one of the officers also shot him with a stun gun, according to the lawsuit.
Filed by Christopher Ratcliffe last week in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire, the lawsuit accuses former Claremont officers Ian Kibbe and Mark Burch of unlawful search and seizure for the incident, which has already resulted in criminal convictions for the two officers.
According to authorities, Burch and Kibbe went to Ratcliffe’s apartment on Pleasant Street because he had allegedly violated a protective order. While there, Kibbe searched a bag and later lied about it in a police report, leading the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office to investigate and charge the officers with falsifying documents.
Kibbe pleaded guilty to one count of unsworn falsification and one count of obstructing government administration and received prison time in early 2019. He has since been released and is no longer with the Claremont Police Department. Burch, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unsworn falsification, was required to perform 100 hours of community service and is also no longer with the department.
In his civil suit, Ratcliffe gave his perspective on the incident and levied additional accusations against the two officers.
He claimed that he was asleep in bed when the officers opened his door, and that when he sat up, “still disoriented,” Kibbe immediately shot him with a stun gun. (Police have previously said a stun gun was used on Ratcliffe.)
As Ratcliffe was taken into custody, he swore at Kibbe, who responded, “Get him straight to jail; no paramedics,” according to the lawsuit.
The officers went back to Ratcliffe’s room, where Kibbe searched through a suitcase and a messenger bag to find a baton and firearm. As a felon, Ratcliffe was barred from possessing firearms.
“Kibbe later claimed to have recovered the weapons in ‘plain view’ within the room where Mr. Ratcliffe was sleeping. He swore to that in an affidavit supporting an arrest of the Plaintiff for multiple felony charges, as well as misdemeanor charges for resisting arrest and violating a protective order,” the lawsuit said.
As a result of the charges, Ratcliffe was held in jail for 21 days, unable to afford the $10,000 bail.
Ratcliffe argued not only that the search was unlawful but that Kibbe’s decision to use force was unwarranted.
“Ratcliffe, at the time Kibbe unlawfully discharged his Taser, was not attempting to avoid a lawful seizure, nor did he pose any threat to an officer’s safety or the safety of the public while sleeping in bed,” the lawsuit read.
The suit accused Kibbe of assault and unreasonable seizure, Burch of failure to intervene, and both officers of unlawfully searching Ratcliffe’s belongings.
Neither Kibbe nor Burch had responded to the lawsuit by Tuesday afternoon. A call to Jared Bedrick, one of the attorneys handling the case, was not returned Tuesday.
This is the second time Kibbe has been the subject of a lawsuit in the last year.
In September, the family of the late Cody LaFont sued Kibbe, asserting he used excessive force and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act after he shot and killed 26-year-old LaFont in his doorway in 2016.
The family said LaFont had called police because he was suffering from a mental health crisis. Kibbe said he shot LaFont after he stepped toward the police officer while carrying a gun and ignored an order to drop the weapon.
Bedrick, who also represented LaFont’s family in their suit against Kibbe, said in July that the family decided to drop the lawsuit. He said the emotional toll the case was taking on family members, as well as the likelihood it wouldn’t go to trial for a long time due to COVID-19, were the main reasons for their decision.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.