A Parma mother filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Parma and three of the city's police officers Tuesday.
In the complaint, which was filed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Lisa Gonzalez alleged the officers used excessive force against her 13-year-old son. She said he weighed approximately 70 pounds when the incident occurred last summer.
According to the lawsuit, on August 13, 2025, Parma police responded to a call about kids fighting at Walters Grove Park. After police responded to the dispute, body-worn camera video shows Gonzalez's son tossed a stick at the rear hatchback door of her van. In response, officers chased him, handcuffed him, and transported him to the Parma police station.
The complaint alleges that Officer Frinzl pushed her son's head into the building's stone wall and then dragged his face along the wall. The incident was captured on body cameras and an overhead City of Parma security camera, with footage available on YouTube.
RELATED: Parma police officer accused of excessive force against 13-year-old boy
Gonzalez said her son still has facial scars from the incident.
The lawsuit alleges the three officers then lifted the boy by his feet and handcuffed arms, and wrenched them behind his back at a 90-degree angle, then carried him into the police station. Body camera video shows the boy's body is completely off the ground, and he is screaming that he is in pain.
The complaint also alleges Frinzl pushed the boy backward over a bench, which caused the boy's head to hit the wall, while they were inside a holding cell at the police station.
Officers eventually called an ambulance to transport him to University Hospital's Parma Medical Center.
However, Gonzalez said police did not notify her that her son was taken to the hospital.
She said her son was treated for the injuries to his face and released.
Parma police charged her son with two counts of assault on Officers Frinzl and Bartulovic, resisting arrest, criminal damaging and obstructing official business.
A Cuyahoga County Juvenile Division magistrate judge dismissed all the charges with prejudice and sealed.
The lawsuit also alleges Frinzl lied on camera that the boy kicked him in the testicles.
Citizen-initiated criminal charges
Gonzalez also filed private, citizen-initiated criminal charges against the three officers on her son's behalf.
Gonzalez filed the citizen-initiated criminal charges in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, asking a judge to find probable cause that Parma police officers Michael B. Frinzl, Olivia Bartulovic and Ryan J. Sopko committed crimes, issue arrest warrants for the officers and appoint a special prosecutor in the case.
The citizen-initiated filing charges Officer Frinzl with second-degree felonious assault, child endangering, violating the child's civil rights, falsification, tampering with evidence and failure to report a crime.
Officer Bartulovic is also charged with second-degree felonious assault, child endangering, falsification, and complicity.
Officer Sopko is charged with assault, child endangering, failure to report, and complicity.
According to Gonzalez's attorney, Subodh Chandra, private citizens may file an affidavit charging criminal offenses directly with a reviewing judge.
Chandra said the filing requests that the court refer the matter to a special prosecutor because Parma municipal authorities have a conflict of interest.
He issued the following statement about the criminal charges:
"A mother had to file these charges because Parma officials have been dragging their feet and doing nothing, one year after the brutality incidents. When police officers commit violent felonies on video against a handcuffed, 70-pound child in their custody, they are not above the law. When law-enforcement institutions fail to act, Ohio law affords citizens the right to present evidence directly to a judge. The affidavit alleges that body-camera footage shows Officers Frinzl, Bartulovic, and Sopko committed brutal acts of felonious assault, child endangerment, and cover-up falsification. Ms. Gonzalez asks the court to find probable cause, issue warrants for their arrest, and appoint an independent special prosecutor to hold them criminally accountable. "
Parma's response
According to the lawsuit, the City of Parma has not disciplined Bartulovic or Sopko.
Officer Frinzl was placed on administrative leave on May 29, 2026, after News 5 Investigators Sarah Buduson started asking questions about the incident.
The lawsuit also alleges the city improperly redacted officers' faces from body camera video obtained by News 5 Investigators in an effort to shield the officers from scrutiny.
The complaint also alleges Parma police have a policy and practice of using excessive force and cites more than a dozen federal lawsuits against the police department dating back to 2000.
News 5 Investigators have reached out to the Parma Police Department for a comment.
A spokesperson sent us the following statement:
"The Parma Police Department is aware of the blog post published on the Chandra Law Firm's website and the statements made therein. Because this matter involves an active investigation, the department is not in a position to comment on or respond to statements made by the attorney representing the family. We remain committed to conducting a thorough, impartial, and fact-based investigation. Additional information will be provided when appropriate and as the process permits, in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of those involved."
OPBA response
The Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, which represents the officers, released the following statement Friday:
"The Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association stands firmly behind the Parma Police Officers now facing unfounded citizen accusations arising from an August 2025 encounter with a 13-year-old juvenile. The Parma Officers involved were seasoned employees who acted consistently with their training and experience. The inflammatory anti-police narrative surrounding this case leaves out the facts that matter most. This was not a compliant child. He had a record of unruly and erratic behavior. On this
occasion, officers were called to Walters Grove Park because of a fight.
During their investigation, this juvenile:
• Threw a large stick that struck officers
• Fled from police
• Resisted arrest
• Screamed and tried kicking out the windows and cage while in the cruiser
• Threatened to run
• And continued kicking officers as they attempted to bring him into the station
Sadly, the juvenile’s own mother could not control his behavior. Body-camera footage from the park captures the juvenile vulgarly berating her as she tells him, “You have court tomorrow! What do you think I’m telling the judge? To put your little ass on house arrest.” His behavior did not stop outside the police department. Inside the juvenile holding cell, he threw chairs, damaged City property, repeatedly banged his head against the wall, and continued acting violently enough that medical personnel were eventually called. The most important fact of the entire situation has been omitted from the public narrative: after his handcuffs were removed, the juvenile stood from the bench, squared up at an Officer with clenched fists, and made an aggressive movement toward him. The involved Officer responded using the level of force reasonably permissible to stop what he reasonably perceived as an imminent assault. Police officers are not required to wait to be punched. All three officers acted appropriately. They did not create this confrontation. They responded to it. And they relied on decades of training and experience to bring an out-of-control juvenile under control.
The OPBA rejects any attempt to turn police officers doing their jobs into criminals through selective video and inflammatory rhetoric. We stand behind our members.The OPBA will hold a press conference next week at its Cleveland office to address this incident. Additional details will be announced Monday."
