PARMA, Ohio — A former Brooklyn police sergeant pleaded no contest to first-degree misdemeanor assault in Parma Municipal Court on Monday afternoon.
Paul Stein was accused of repeatedly punching a woman who was handcuffed in the head after she spat on him.
Pleading no contest means a defendant neither admits nor denies the charge against them. However, the defendant is still convicted and sentenced as if they had pleaded guilty.
Stein and his attorney had no comment after the court hearing.
What happened
The charge stemmed from an incident in September 2025, which was captured by Brooklyn Police officers' body-worn cameras.
The video shows Stein standing on top of the woman's feet. The woman then demanded that Stein get off her feet - and spat in his face.
The video shows Stein then repeatedly punching her in the face - with a closed fist.
Stein was fired as a result of the incident.
Civil rights lawsuit
The assault case is not Stein's only legal trouble.
He is also facing a civil rights lawsuit that was filed last month in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
CLICK HERE to read the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also names the City of Brooklyn, its former police chief, and five other officers.
It alleges they violated a Maple Heights man's civil rights by failing to investigate Stein and helping him cover up his crimes.
How it started
The lawsuit alleges the incident started on I-90 East in Westlake on April 30, 2025.
Former Brooklyn police Sgt. Paul Stein struck JaJuan Wyckoff's car and then sped away from the scene of the accident, according to the lawsuit.
Video from Wyckoff's cellphone and surveillance footage obtained by News 5 show Wyckoff then following Stein to the Brooklyn Police Department, where he confronted Wyckoff.
Surveillance video shows Stein then shoved, kicked and stomped on Wyckoff to prevent him from entering the police department through the employee entrance. Wyckoff's attorney, Keith Hansbrough, said Stein did not identify himself as a police officer.
The investigation
Three officers then came outside and spoke with Wyckoff about the incident.
Body camera video shows Wyckoff telling the officers that he smelled alcohol on Stein's breath.
Hansbrough said the officers failed to properly investigate Wyckoff's allegations and discouraged Wyckoff from taking further action.
"Stein was hidden inside the building. They [the officers] turned off their cameras. They didn't drug test him. They didn't alcohol test him. They were helping Stein flee the scene of an accident, " Hansbrough said.
According to the internal investigation, former Brooklyn Police Chief Scott Mielke found that Stein committed traffic violations during the Westlake incident but concluded that the skirmish at the police station's employee entrance "shows no policy violations."
"This was an incident where there was police brutality captured on camera — with the actions of the police officer, including the chief of police, acting to cover those up and facilitate the crime," Hansbrough said.
The lawsuit also alleges the department ignored red flags about Stein's behavior for years.
In a 2023 performance review, Stein was commended for working on verbal de-escalation and reducing citizen complaints.
"They tolerated Stein's misconduct for years," Hansbrough said. "They encouraged it. They didn't supervise. They didn't discipline. They didn't train."
Stein will be sentenced on the assault charge at a court hearing that has yet to be scheduled.
He could face up to six months behind bars and up to a $1000 fine.
