North Royalton police officer adds acting mayor as defendant for allegedly extending retaliation campaign over felony-charge cover-up

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Monday, July 13, 2026

Acting Mayor Paul Marnecheck is now a defendant for having allegedly participated in the retaliation against whistleblower Patrolman Spencer Lowe.

North Royalton Mayor Paul Marnecheck: now a defendant for participating in alleged retaliation against whistleblowing Officer Spencer Lowe. (City Hall portrait.)

NORTH ROYALTON, OH – Today, North Royalton Police Officer Spencer Lowe filed an amended and supplemental civil-rights complaint in his federal lawsuit, adding current acting-Mayor and Safety-Service Director Paul Marnecheck as a defendant. The lawsuit alleges that rather than reverse the unlawful, retaliatory actions of his predecessor, Marnecheck chose to extend and amplify the city’s retaliation campaign.

The amended complaint alleges that on May 15, 2026, Marnecheck converted Officer Lowe’s unlawful termination into a 60-day unpaid suspension. In a letter, Marnecheck maintained that Lowe violated department policies by sharing with the city's mayor/safety-service director and his union representative, attorney Brian Smith, public records showing corrupt decisionmaking and cover-up. The lawsuit alleges that Marnecheck’s imposition of a suspension constitutes a new, independent act of retaliation designed to lock in the economic penalties against the reporting officer and continue the city's extensive cover-up.

By transforming the firing into an unpaid suspension, Marnecheck allegedly blocked Officer Lowe from collecting unemployment benefits to support his family. Also, because North Royalton had already paid out Lowe’s accrued vacation and sick time upon his firing, the city stripped him of all accrued leave days upon reinstatement without providing any option to repay the funds.

The underlying alleged felony tampering with public records and evidence

The original lawsuit arose after Officer Lowe pulled over intoxicated Orange Village Deputy Police Chief Patrick O’Callahan on October 11, 2025. O’Callahan drove swerving and speeding with three loaded, accessible firearms in his vehicle. Officer Lowe arrested O’Callahan and charged him with operating a vehicle while impaired (OVI) and felony improper handling of a firearm. A court has since convicted him for OVI.

The lawsuit alleges that on October 14, 2025, Police Chief Keith Tarase and Lieutenant James Cutler accessed the electronic-records system and deleted from Lowe's approved report the felony-firearm charge, to shield the deputy chief from criminal exposure. After Officer Lowe discovered the alteration and reported the suspected felonies, former Mayor Lawrence Antoskiewicz launched a pretextual internal investigation and fired him on April 14, 2026, according to the amended complaint.

North Royalton Police Chief Keith Tarase and former Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz

New evidence and examples of ongoing alleged retaliation added to the amended complaint

The amended and supplemental complaint details several new facts and ongoing hostile actions uncovered since the original filing:

Altering rules to legalize spurious edits: The lawsuit alleges that since Officer Lowe reported the record-tampering, police officials changed the department's internal rules, removing the policy restriction that strictly limited corrections or modifications to the authoring employee.
Predetermined-retaliation rumors: The complaint notes that rumors regarding plans to retaliate against Officer Lowe and Sergeant FloAnn Rybicki, who has filed her own lawsuit for alleged retaliation, circulated through the department weeks before former Mayor Antoskiewicz ever formally launched an investigation, proving that city officials pre-determined the disciplinary results.
Chief Tarase's prejudicial presentations: The lawsuit alleges that Chief Tarase constructed a PowerPoint presentation and held mandatory meetings for officers on March 26 and April 9, 2026 to discredit Officer Lowe. In those alleged presentations, he omitted material facts—like the loaded gun found in O'Callahan's pocket—to paint Officer Lowe to his peers as an incompetent officer who conducted a weak traffic stop.
Systemic database and equipment sabotage: Since Officer Lowe returned to work on June 15, 2026, department officials have actively sabotaged his ability to do his job, according to the complaint. The city denied him access to critical law-enforcement databases, and Chief Tarase himself allegedly refused to sign the paperwork to reinstate his credentials. Officials also withheld the keys to his station mailbox, his city identity card, his department-issued pepper spray, his holster, and necessary training on new patrol-car equipment.

Subodh Chandra, lead counsel for Officer Lowe, issued the following statement:

Acting Mayor Paul Marnecheck had an opportunity to clean house, restore the rule of law, and fully vindicate a courageous officer who refused to participate in an alleged felony cover-up. Instead, Marnecheck chose to double down on the alleged corruption. By converting an unlawful firing into an economically devastating 60-day unpaid suspension and allowing the city to deny Officer Lowe basic law-enforcement tools, Marnecheck actively joined the conspiracy and became an accessory to it. North Royalton's leadership continues to show that it will stop at nothing to protect politically connected wrongdoers, while punishing the honest officers who expose them.

Lowe is represented by Subodh Chandra and Emily Bohatch.

Officer Lowe’s amended complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Case No. 1:26-CV-01371-PAG, is assigned to Judge Patricia A. Gaughan. It can be read here.

The civil complaint follows a May 6, 2026 Ohio Whistleblower Protection Act appeal of Lowe's firing to the State Personnel Board of Review.

Meanwhile, yet another victim, police Sergeant FloAnn Rybicki, filed a related retaliation complaint arising from the same circumstances.

About The Chandra Law Firm LLC

The Chandra Law Firm LLC is a boutique firm dedicated to vindicating the rights of whistleblowers and victims of civil-rights violations. The firm is known for its advocacy in high-stakes litigation against government and corporate misconduct.

Chandra Law is experienced obtaining justice for victims of employment retaliation. We also secure constitutional rights.

And the firm helped pioneer work in holding individuals and companies accountable for civil liability for criminal acts, securing the two leading Supreme Court of Ohio decisions favorable to crime victims on the topic.

If you think that your rights have been violated, you may contact us to discuss your options.

At Chandra Law, your case is our cause.®

Related Practice Areas

Constitutional Law Employment Retaliation First Amendment Government Ethics, Misconduct, Fraud, & Abuse First Amendment Retaliation Section 1983 Litigation: Holding Government Officials Accountable for Constitutional Violations Ohio Whistleblower Protection Act

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