Man charged with trespass, disorderly conduct at Lorain City Council meeting sues council clerk for defamation

A Lorain man who was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct for his alleged actions at a July Lorain City Council meeting is suing Council Clerk Breanna Dull for allegedly defaming him and causing him to be "maliciously" prosecuted. Garon Petty, of Ivanhoe Drive, filed suit Sept. 16 in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. The lawsuit alleges that starting July 1, Dull "has in bad faith, falsely and maliciously, defamed" Petty by filing false police reports against him, and has libeled and slandered him to City Council members and the Lorain Police Department. The lawsuit seeks more than $25,000 or up to $1 million in compensatory damages, and more than $25,000 or up to $2 million for punitive damages as well as attorney fees. Petty, 73, of Lorain, was charged Aug. 5 in Lorain Municipal Court after he allegedly trespassed in an area reserved for city officials after a City Council meeting and approached Dull "in an aggressive manner." Petty pleaded not guilty to the charges Sept. 19 in Lorain Municipal Court. Visiting Judge James Kimbler is assigned to the case, and the next pretrial hearing is Oct. 21, according to court records. According to Lorain police, Petty went to Dull's office shortly before the July 1 City Council meeting and requested the minutes from prior meetings. Dull told Petty the minutes weren't ready. Then at the July 1 meeting, Petty walked through a gate separating the public gallery from officials and allegedly began yelling at Dull. She told police he was aggressive, agitated and that she was intimidated, which is when City Council members intervened. In his lawsuit, Petty alleged that Dull had "failed to timely and properly type up the minutes of a Council meeting and had apparently censored and/or edited the official minutes" of Council by failing "to reflect and replicate the exact discourse and statement of the government actors and citizens." Petty claimed he was only seeking clarification, and that he never threatened, cornered or abused Dull. She later "acted with malicious intent" when she made "false criminal allegations" against him "as a deflection to her incompetence and potentially her own improper, illegal and sanitation of the public record to curry political favor," according to Petty's lawsuit. Petty and his attorney Robert Gargasz provided no evidence of those allegations in their filing. Petty has sued the city, City Council members and other city officials before — at least three other times since December 2021, according to Common Pleas Court records. All of those lawsuits were dismissed, according to court records.