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Bridge Expert Arrested in Retaliation at I-35 Collapse Site After Criticizing Public Officials
MINNEAPOLIS, June 27 PRNewswire-USNewswire — A bridge and construction safety expert was falsely arrested while collaborating with safety officials after making critical statements against public officials regarding the maintenance of the I-35 Bridge prior to its collapse. Timothy Galarnyk, a construction and risk safety expert with nearly 30 years of experience and CEO of Construction Risk Management Inc., is now filing suit in federal court alleging false arrest and retaliation in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.
On August 9, 2007, one week after the tragedy, Mr. Galarnyk visited the site of the collapsed Bridge to speak with officials from the National Transportation Safety Board. Mr. Galarnyk was there in the spirit of collaboration, hoping to offer his expertise in the face of a public disaster responsible for the loss of human lives. In spite of this, police officials arrested Mr. Galarnyk for an, as of yet, unstated offense. To this day, Mr. Galarnyk has never been charged with a crime related to his visit to the collapse site. In fact, Mr. Galarnyk was released without ever having been told why he was arrested.
Four days earlier, Mr. Galarnyk was interviewed by numerous newspapers and appeared on a variety of televised news shows. Included in these appearances were two interviews of Mr. Galarnyk by Geraldo Rivera which aired on the national Fox News network. During his appearances, Mr. Galarnyk was questioned about the I-35 collapse and offered his opinions as to its cause. Mr. Galarnyk made public statements to these journalists that Minnesota officials had been negligent in the inspection, maintenance and management of the Bridge.
Following his arrest, police officials for the Minneapolis Police Department stated that Mr. Galarnyk was a scam artist hoping to capitalize on the disaster. "These officials have caused immeasurable damage to my client's reputation and to his business prospects," says Blake Horwitz, attorney for Mr. Galarnyk. "Mr. Galarnyk was there to offer help and assistance during a crisis, and as a result, he was arrested, handcuffed, jailed and caused to suffer public humiliation. The Minneapolis Police Department should have commended him for stepping up and offering his help, not put him through this horrible ordeal."
The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Galarnyk was falsely arrested and that he was retaliated against for speaking out about negligence in the Minneapolis Department of Transportation.
SOURCE Horwitz, Richardson & Baker, LLC
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