NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — The police union and attorneys representing three Parma police officers accused of using excessive force against a 13-year-old boy said during a news conference Friday morning that the officers' actions were "routine" and "okay in the moment," as well as "within the law."
Tom Austin, executive director of the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, expressed frustration that Parma only initiated an investigation into the August 2025 incident after News 5 Investigators broke the story in June.
RELATED: Parma police officer accused of excessive force against 13-year-old boy
Austin also said a use of force expert found Officers Michael B. Frinzl, Olivia Bartulovic and Ryan J. Sopko acted appropriately during the incident, but Henry Hilow, an attorney representing one of the officers, refused to reveal the name of the expert.
Austin added that the boy resisted officers throughout the incident, kicked officers and made "aggressive" moves toward an officer while inside a holding cell before being transported to a local hospital.
Civil rights lawsuit
A civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of the boy last week alleges that while transporting him into the police station, Frinzl pushed his head into the building's stone wall and then dragged his face along the wall after the boy kicked the officers. The incident was captured on body cameras and by an overhead City of Parma security camera, with footage available on YouTube.
RELATED: Mother sues Parma police, files citizen-initiated criminal charges, on behalf of 13-year-old son
The boy's mother, Lisa Gonzalez, said her son has facial scars from the incident, is "petrified of police" and was diagnosed with PTSD. She said her son weighed approximately 70 pounds when the incident occurred last summer.
Their attorney, Subodh Chandra, said, "Anybody can watch that video footage and see that there was no justification for slamming a child's face up against a brick wall."
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, also 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 before carrying him into the police station. Body camera video shows the boy's body is completely off the ground, and that 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.
The union's general counsel, Dominic Saturday, said the incident was "a routine police use of force."
Saturday also said the officers did not intend to drag the boy's face against the wall.
"No one intentionally drags the juvenile," he said. "It's an entire interaction and their momentum that leads them toward the building."
Hilow said, "It was okay in the moment in the circumstances that were presented."
Chandra disagreed with the attorneys and the union. "At the end of the day, the union is grasping at straws," he said. "Their view of the law doesn't bear any resemblance to the Constitution that most people know."
Officers eventually called an ambulance to transport the boy to University Hospitals Parma Medical Center.
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.
According to her lawsuit, the incident occurred on Aug. 13, 2025, after 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. Austin said pieces of the stick hit the officers. In response, officers chased him, handcuffed him and transported him to the Parma police station.
Parma police charged the boy 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 records.
The lawsuit also alleges Frinzl lied on camera that the boy kicked him in the testicles.
Citizen-initiated criminal charges
Gonzalez also filed citizen-initiated criminal charges on her son's behalf in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, asking a judge to find probable cause that the Parma police officers committed crimes, issue arrest warrants for the officers, and appoint a special prosecutor in the case.
The citizen-initiated filing charges Frinzl with second-degree felonious assault, child endangering, violating the child's civil rights, falsification, tampering with evidence and failure to report a crime.
Bartulovic is also charged with second-degree felonious assault, child endangering, falsification and complicity.
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 paid 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 reached out to the Parma Police Department for a comment Friday. We did not receive a response.
A spokesperson previously 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."
