Lawsuit: Former Newton Falls police chief defamed pizza shop on social media
Former Newton Falls Police Chief Eugene Fixler allegedly defamed a village pizza shop on social media — claiming the business had “significant” health code violations — and improperly ordered officers to patrol its location, according to a civil lawsuit recently filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
An attorney for Nicole and Alexander Brewer of Newton Falls, owners of Tiger Den Pizza along East Broad Street, last week brought a civil complaint against Fixler, the village and unidentified village police officers, claiming defamation, libel, slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress and interference with business.
According to the suit, Fixler refused to allow the Brewers to file a formal complaint against a village officer regarding an issue with their vehicle, which was being driven by their son.
After that incident, the Brewers allege Fixler disrupted their pizza business by calling the Trumbull County Combined Health District with “false accusations about the business,” posting police officers at the business and having them follow delivery drivers, and by making social media posts suggesting the business had “significant” health department violations, or asking others to.
Newton Falls Village is accused of failing to intervene and protect the business from interference, which caused it to lose revenue, the lawsuit claims.
Mahoning Matters could not independently verify the aforementioned social media posts. Attorney Gil Blair of Warren, who’s representing the pizza shop and its owners, declined to comment on the case to Mahoning Matters.
Records provided to Mahoning Matters by the Trumbull County Combined Health District show environmental health inspectors logged five “critical” health code violations during Tiger Den Pizza’s three most recent inspections over the past year.
Its most recent inspection on March 9 found a hand-washing sink was not connected to a water source and noted a buildup of food debris and litter inside a prep sink that needed to be cleaned.
Its prior December inspection also noted a hand-washing sink was in need of repair, and a prep table and can opener needed to be cleaned more frequently.
A critical violation from June 2021 relating to food items that didn’t have date labels appears to have been resolved by the following December inspection.
Fixler was previously terminated
Prior to the lawsuit, village officials found Fixler guilty of misfeasance and inefficiency after an investigation into the police department that raised several issues, including Fixler’s reported mishandling of an impaired driver who later caused a double-fatal accident in Portage County, The Tribune Chronicle reported.
One of Fixler’s inefficiency charges relates to the village’s policy on misconduct complaints. Though complaints can be made in person, over the phone or in writing, Fixler was accused of requiring them to be in writing.
“No officer should dissuade an individual from filing a complaint,” the charge reads. “You have done so on at least one occasion.”
Village Council members narrowly voted to remove Fixler from his post in January. He has since appealed the decision, claiming his removal was improper. Newton Falls is expected to respond to his claim by Thursday.
Court records suggest village attorneys have not yet been served with the Tiger Den Pizza civil lawsuit. Newton Falls Village Mayor Kenneth Kline was unaware of the case when he spoke to Mahoning Matters on Wednesday.
The civil lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory damages and punitive damages of $50,000 each from the village, Fixler and the other unidentified defendants.
