Ex-Coconut Creek officer says family was held at Coral Springs home, lawsuit says

A longtime Coconut Creek police officer is suing his former agency again, saying he and his family were held against their will at their Coral Springs home while he was being served with an administrative leave notice.

The husband and wife filed the lawsuit Oct. 3 against the City of Coconut Creek, in addition to multiple current and former officers.

The Coconut Creek police chief told the Coral Springs News on Oct. 18 the agency couldn’t comment on the lawsuit and said the lieutenant in question resigned in September 2024.

It’s the second lawsuit the 24-year veteran of CCPD has leveled against the city, but both are connected to his being placed on administrative leave on April 4, 2024, for what he describes as retaliation for testifying against his superiors.

The police chief at the time — who is also named in the lawsuit — announced his retirement in May 2024 after an investigation into his leadership practices found a “toxic” environment, CBS and the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

During that investigation, the lieutenant was instructed to testify about the captain he was serving under but said his captain retaliated against him for doing so, according to the earlier lawsuit, which accuses the city of violating the state’s Whistleblower Act.

The Act protects employees from retaliation if they speak out against certain inappropriate or illegal activities of their employer.

The lawsuit says a couple months later, the lieutenant was “forced to have a mediation” over correcting a subordinate’s grammar in front of their co-workers, then he was told to go home.

He was placed on administrative leave the next day, but the manner in which he was notified of his leave is the subject of the second lawsuit.

According to the filing, the Coconut Creek Police Department sent two lieutenants to his house in Coral Springs, outside their typical jurisdiction, to collect his agency vehicle, badge and gun, and to serve him with the notice of administrative leave.

His attorney wrote in the lawsuit that this was unusual, as the normal practice was to have the officer come in and turn in the department property.

One of the couple’s kids was home when officers arrived, but the couple was out, so one lieutenant called the man and told him to come home, according to the filing.

When the couple got back, the officers relieved the man of his department items then “ordered” the family to remain at their home, despite the fact one of their children had a doctor’s appointment, the lawsuit says.

According to the filing, the officers told them they couldn’t leave to go to the appointment, which constituted “unlawful seizure” without an arrest or search warrant, in violation of the family’s constitutional rights.

“After Defendants’ show of force and orders, while armed, they ‘sat on’ Plaintiffs’ house, holding Plaintiffs and their family as prisoners, for nearly two (2) hours, causing anxiety, fear and embarrassment,” the lawsuit says.

According to the filing, the lieutenants didn’t have any paperwork with them when they first showed up at the home and were waiting outside while the letters regarding the internal affairs investigation and the administrative leave were drafted.

The couple is accusing the officers and the city of armed false imprisonment and false arrest. They’re seeking damages in excess of $75,000.

This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 11:37 AM.